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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Search for British boy who went missing in France is called off | Search for British boy who went missing in France is called off |
| (10 days later) | |
| The search has been called off for a British schoolboy who disappeared on a holiday island off the south of France during a severe storm. | The search has been called off for a British schoolboy who disappeared on a holiday island off the south of France during a severe storm. |
| Pierre Barnes, 12, from Grantham, Lincolnshire, vanished after going for a bike ride on the island of Porquerolles, near Toulon on the Mediterranean coast. | Pierre Barnes, 12, from Grantham, Lincolnshire, vanished after going for a bike ride on the island of Porquerolles, near Toulon on the Mediterranean coast. |
| His father, Stephen, 57, had admitted that hopes of finding him alive were fading, describing his son as a "lovable and slightly eccentric little chap". | His father, Stephen, 57, had admitted that hopes of finding him alive were fading, describing his son as a "lovable and slightly eccentric little chap". |
| He said that the weather was calm and sunny and there was no hint of the oncoming storm when the youngster embarked on the trip. | He said that the weather was calm and sunny and there was no hint of the oncoming storm when the youngster embarked on the trip. |
| "My wife told him he could go out on his bike for a quarter of an hour," he told the Daily Telegraph. | "My wife told him he could go out on his bike for a quarter of an hour," he told the Daily Telegraph. |
| "He was disobeying us a little bit as he was wearing this smart dressing gown that his mother didn't like him to wear outside. I warned him it could get caught in the chain." | "He was disobeying us a little bit as he was wearing this smart dressing gown that his mother didn't like him to wear outside. I warned him it could get caught in the chain." |
| Barnes and his French wife, Florence, 43, had arrived on the island just hours earlier with Pierre and their other children, Zoe, 17, Desmond, 15, and Clemence, 13, for a cycling holiday during the half-term break. | Barnes and his French wife, Florence, 43, had arrived on the island just hours earlier with Pierre and their other children, Zoe, 17, Desmond, 15, and Clemence, 13, for a cycling holiday during the half-term break. |
| More than 150 local volunteers joined the search to find Pierre . The day after he disappeared, rescuers found one of his shoes on a coastal path, alongside his bike with its chain off. | More than 150 local volunteers joined the search to find Pierre . The day after he disappeared, rescuers found one of his shoes on a coastal path, alongside his bike with its chain off. |
| Barnes admitted that, despite the "tremendous response" from the local community and the search teams, his hopes for his son were ebbing away. | Barnes admitted that, despite the "tremendous response" from the local community and the search teams, his hopes for his son were ebbing away. |
| French investigators have previously said that abduction has been ruled out as a motive. | French investigators have previously said that abduction has been ruled out as a motive. |
| Xavier Tarabeux, the prosecutor in charge of the inquiry into the disappearance, was quoted by the BBC as saying that the investigation had not been closed. | Xavier Tarabeux, the prosecutor in charge of the inquiry into the disappearance, was quoted by the BBC as saying that the investigation had not been closed. |
| "We still have to perform a technical examination of the bike because its chain was broken when it was found," he added. | "We still have to perform a technical examination of the bike because its chain was broken when it was found," he added. |
| "We still have to conduct hearings with witnesses who might have seen Pierre on his bicycle." | "We still have to conduct hearings with witnesses who might have seen Pierre on his bicycle." |
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