On 31 May, at around 4 pm, Aude Fagot left her home near Jougne, in the French department of Doubs, some seven kilometres from Vallorbe. She is 44 years old, a nurse, and was working in Switzerland. It took more than two days for her father to hear from her. When he heard nothing, he called the police. On 4 June, they found her car abandoned near Pontarlier, very close to the Swiss border. Aude was not there.
On Monday 8 June, a large-scale search was organised. Around 250 local volunteers, coordinated by thirty gendarmes from Pontarlier and a specialist high-altitude unit from the Jura. Aude’s family and friends were also present. They combed a wooded area covering three square kilometres for hours. They found nothing. The mayor of Jougne, who was present, admitted that at that point he had no leads. A local resident who knew the area told journalists what everyone was thinking but not saying: “A kidnapping, a murder? We don’t know, we don’t know.”
What complicates the case is that Aude left no note, no message, no clue of any kind. Those close to her describe her as someone with no history of running away. The police are investigating all possibilities: an accident, a voluntary disappearance, suicide, or something worse. Almost two weeks after she was last seen, there is still no news.
For many of us in this group, that stretch between the Doubs and the canton of Vaud is the best known. Many people pass through Vallorbe every day on their way to work on the other side. That very same road, that very same region. If anyone has any information about Aude Fagot, the Pontarlier gendarmerie is still looking for witnesses.