French investigators have opened a murder probe after bloodstains were found at the home of a family of four whose mysterious disappearance has stumped the nation, reports FRANCE 24.
The Troadec family -- Pascal and Brigitte, both aged around 50, their son Sebastien, 21, and his sister Charlotte, 18 -- have not been seen since February 16.
Bloodstains found in their house, in a suburb of the western city of Nantes, so far match the DNA of three of the four missing persons, prosecutor Pierre Sennès said late Monday.
Sennès said a probe has been opened into murder, abduction and illegal confinement in a case that has baffled the French press.
Several media reports recalled a murder in 2011 of five members of the same family, also in the Nantes area, noting that Sebastien attended the same high school as one of the victims.
The father, Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès, remains at large and is the target of an international arrest warrant.
Sennès said bloodstains were found throughout the Troadec’s two-storey house, including on Sebastien's cellphone and on Brigitte's watch, as well as efforts to wipe some of them away.