the body recovered on Thursday is indeed that of the student

The 18-year-old had been missing since February 11. His body was found near the nightclub where he was last seen.

The body recovered Thursday April 4 in a river in Moncoutant-sur-Sèvre, in Deux-Sèvres, is indeed that of Erwan, an 18-year-old student who disappeared in February, announced the public prosecutor of Niort, Julien Wattebled, in a statement.

“The genetic comparison analysis carried out by the IRCGN confirmed that the body discovered in Sèvre Nantes is indeed that of Erwan Blais”writes the public prosecutor in his press release. “The family was immediately informed of this result”he specifies.

“Investigations are continuing to determine under what circumstances the young man could have found himself in the river”continues the prosecution, calling “anyone who has information on this subject” to contact the police.

Mobilization of loved ones

A lifeless body, bearing the identity papers of Erwan Blais, had been found by a fisherman in an arm of the Nantes Sèvre, near the nightclub, the magistrate indicated Thursday evening. Erwan Blais, 18, a student at the University of Poitiers, had been missing since the night of February 10 to 11, after spending the evening with friends in a nightclub in Moncoutant-sur-Sèvre near which this river flows.

A call for witnesses was sent out after a raid that involved 120 people. Dozens of gendarmes, including divers, dogs, a drone and a helicopter, also participated in the search in the days following the disappearance, without success.