his father breaks the silence and brushes aside “the gossip” about his absence

HM 23/04/2024 at 15:50

Seven months after the disappearance of young Lina in Bas-Rhin, her father Olivier spoke for the first time, saying he remained hopeful that his daughter was still alive.

He speaks for the first time. The father of Lina, the 15-year-old teenager who has not been found since September 23, 2023 in Bas-Rhin, has broken his silence. From the regional daily Latest News from Alsace (DNA), Olivier Delsarte, 49, said this Tuesday, April 23, that he remained hopeful of finding his daughter alive.

“The fact of not knowing allows us to maintain hope, to say to ourselves that perhaps she is sequestered somewhere and still alive. I’m holding on to that,” he said. However, “the more time passes, the more this hope diminishes.”

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On sick leave since his disappearance

Separated from Lina’s mother for several years, Olivier Delsarte has lived in Isère for almost a year, claiming to see his daughter “once every two weeks, during a weekend”. His last exchange with the teenager dates back to “July 2022, a few days after Lina filed a rape complaint”, for which he also accompanied his daughter. This truck driver says he has been off work since the disappearance of his daughter.

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On the day of her disappearance, Lina left her home in Plaine (Bas-Rhin) to walk to the Saint-Blaise-la-Roche station, about three kilometers away. She had to take a train to join her boyfriend in Strasbourg. Not seeing her arrive, he alerted the young girl’s mother.

In March, three police detentions raised hopes of progress in a case which had seemed to have been at a standstill for six months. They were finally lifted immediately without proceedings being brought against the people interviewed.

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Complicious moments

On sick leave since Lina’s disappearance, Olivier Delsarte has never spoken publicly. “Because it’s not my nature,” he defended. “There, I make a superhuman effort,” he concedes, adding that it is mainly to “cut short everything that is said.”

“Gossip is rife, like I wasn’t there for my daughter. This is completely false. I was always there when she called me, I was always there for her,” he insisted. Despite periods of tension, Olivier Delsarte insists on the complicity he shared with his daughter: “When I was with her, I wanted things to go well. We had a good relationship. I was trying to get him to do activities, like hiking. »

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