A former policeman, suspected of being involved in the kidnapping of his partner, ex-wife and two children, has been arrested in Portugal.
Notícias ao Minuto reports that the 42-year-old was arrested yesterday – and that his children (one aged 13, the other 18 months) “have appeared and are safe and sound”.
The two women, however, remain missing – and authorities in France are reported to be “extremely concerned over what may have happened to them.”
French news outlet Midi Libre has the very incomplete details of this arrest. It is not clear in what region former police officer Cédric Prizzon was run to ground, nor in what circumstances. His arrest appears to have taken place last night – and it was for “possession of a gun”, not for kidnapping.
There is also some doubt in the French press that Prizzon was “responsible for the disappearance of his wife and ex-wife”, Notícias ao Minuto adds. “For now, the French media does not identify where Cédric was arrested, nor if the children were also found in Portugal. All that is known is that the current partner of the former cop, like his ex, Audrey Cavalié, remain missing. A source close to the investigation has told Midi Libre that “the location of the two women remains unclear” and that “authorities are extremely worried about what may have happened to them.”
Midi Libre this morning adds that Montpellier prosecutor’s office, which has taken over the investigation, is expected to release a statement on the progress of the case later today. Officers from the Toulouse research section of the gendarmerie are expected to travel to Portugal “within the next few hours”.
Background as supplied by Midi Libre:
On the morning of Friday, March 20, a woman and her 13-year-old son, Élio, disappeared without a trace from their home in the hamlet of Saint-Grat, in the commune of Vailhourles.
Since then, the police had been fully mobilized, especially since the missing woman’s ex-partner and father of the teenager Cédric Prizzon was also nowhere to be found. His new partner and their one-and-a-half-year-old son were also missing.
It’s a “complex case,” according to a source close to the investigation. Investigators were considering the possibility of him fleeing abroad and issued a wanted notice to authorities in neighboring countries. In 2021, Prizzon had illegally traveled to Spain with his son, Elio, for several days.
A former rugby league player as well as ex-policeman, Prizzon had already participated, along with other fathers who had lost custody of their children, in a hunger strike in front of the court in Rodez and in demonstrations in front of the town hall in Villefranche-de-Rouergue, about fifteen kilometers from Vailhourles.
On social media, he posted videos denouncing “a corrupt justice system” and a “scandal .” He claimed that his son was “in danger” with his mother and threatened her in several videos uploaded onto Youtube.
Source: noticiasaominuto/ Midi Libre
