Family asks for military help in search for missing Anne Faber
The family of 25-year-old Anne Faber wants military specialists to help search for the missing Utrecht woman, a spokesperson for the family said in a statement on Thursday. Anne disappeared while cycling on Friday evening.
"Now after five days it is time to expand the search", the family spokesperson said, according to NU.nl. He suggests getting help from so-called military combat trackers - soldiers trained to search for tracks and traces in any terrain. "With every day that passess without a decisisve breakthrough in the investigation, the chances that she will be found get smaller."
A spokesperson for Defense told NU.nl that the Ministry hasn't yet received an official request for aid from the local authorities. "Military help is often called in if it has added value, such as the combat trackers", the spokesperson said. "The police also have enough capacity, but if they need extra capacity, they can ask."
Defense assisted in searches for missing persons in the past. For example, soldiers were deployed in the search for brothers Ruben (9) and Julian (7) in 2013. The boys were later found dead. The authorities believe their father killed them.
Anne Faber left her home in Rijnsweerd, Utrecht on a black bicycle on Friday afternoon. She went cycling on a regular basis. Around 6:50 p.m. she sent a selfie to her boyfriend. The poho shows her standing in the rain in Baarn. That was the last time anyone heard from her. Based on her phone data, the police determined that Anne was cycling on roue 115802, from Soest towards De Bilt, after that selfie was taken.
After several unsuccessful searches in Baarn and Soest, clothing was found in Huis ter Heide that the police believe belong to Anne Faber. The clothing items are currently at the Netherlands Forensic Institute for investiggation. A police spokesperson told NU.nl that it has "top priority". On Wednesday another police spokesperson said that they hoped to get certainty about the clothing on Wednesday, but according to the cop that spoke to NU.nl, that was based on a misnunderstanding.
Today the police are continuing their search in Huis ter Heide. They're searching in a wider circle around the spot where the clothing was found.
