Woman reported missing in the Netherlands in June was found killed days earlier in Germany
A 35-year-old woman reported missing in the Netherlands since 16 June was actually found dead in Germany a day earlier. The partner of the victim, Sawsan Mhamdi, was arrested on Wednesday, police said.
Dutch police this week that they actually received the missing persons report on 19 June, and an earlier statement noted the date of the woman's disappearance as being 16 June. The day before she supposedly wandered off on foot, an unidentified body was found in the Mainz-Bingen district of Münster-Sarmsheim, Germany, near a viaduct. The location is roughly 250 kilometers southeast of the woman's hometown of Reuver, Limburg.
The woman's remains were burnt beyond recognition, German police previously said, adding they assumed she died as the result of a crime. She was found just after 1:30 a.m. near highway 48 under the A61 motorway. Two months later, they still had not established her identity, so they used forensic medicine techniques to create a rendering of what she looked like, and an approximate description.
They released this to print and broadcast media, including television show Aktenzeichen XY Ungelöst, in an appeal for information about the victim. They offered a reward of 5,000 euros, but only a handful of tips came in.
German police gave an age range, an estimated height, and physical description that was similar to what Dutch police said in June. Once German police established the identity of the body, they began working closely with Dutch police.
That led to the arrest of her partner this week on suspicion he was somehow involved. "It is not yet clear if and in what way he may have played a role in the disappearance," Dutch police said. "At the moment there are various scenarios and directions that need to be investigated and looked at further."
Police did not speculate on the motive behind the woman's disappearance and death.
