Stephanie Foray. This 30-year-old Frenchwoman has been missing in Malaysia for almost three months. It's incredible to read how the Malaysian authorities are still hopeful that she's still alive.
She might very likely have been robbed and killed.
If she's still alive, it would only be for the purpose of getting a ransom. In other words, it'll be a kidnapping case. But there was no such a demand letter for the ransom money, was there?
MALAYSIAN authorities are still hopeful that Stephanie Foray, a Frenchwoman who has been missing in Malaysia for almost three months, is still alive.
Although she has been missing since May 8, both the Malaysian police and their French counterparts are still working under the presumption that the 30-year-old civil servant is still alive.
Police do, however, have new leads following the arrests of two men in Pulau Tioman, the last place she was seen alive.
The first man was arrested at Kampung Tekek in Pulau Tioman last week. The other, a 44-year-old businessman, is believed to be one of the last people to have seen Ms Foray alive when he allegedly gave her a ride on a motorcycle to a chalet which belonged to his relative. Police also found Ms Foray's mobile phone and Sri Lankan currency notes with one of the men.
Ms Foray, who regularly travels alone, arrived in Malaysia on May 5 after touring India and Sri Lanka. She spent a couple of nights in Malacca before leaving for Pulau Tioman on May 9.
Her family suspected something was wrong after they stopped receiving e-mails and telephone calls from her. Her last e-mail to them was sent from Malacca.
From Straits Times, "Search for missing Frenchwoman continues".
Authorities are still hopeful that Stephanie Foray (pic), a Frenchwoman who has been missing in Malaysia for almost three months, is still alive.
Although she has been missing since May 8, both the Malaysian police and their French counterparts are still working under the presumption that the 30-year-old civil servant is still alive.
Malacca police chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Chua Ghee Lye said: “The investigation is still in its early stages. Hopefully, we will find her alive and well.”
The French liaison officer Yves Godiveau, based in Singapore, who has been in constant contact with the Royal Malaysian Police over the investigation, echoed the sentiment.
“I hope so,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Police do, however, have new leads following the arrests of two men in Pulau Tioman, the last place she was seen alive.
The first man was arrested at Kampung Tekek in Pulau Tioman last week. The other, a 44-year-old businessman, is believed to be one of the last people to have seen Foray alive when he allegedly gave her a ride on a motorcycle to a chalet which belonged to his relative.
Police also found Foray's mobile phone and Sri Lankan currency notes with one of the men. SAC Chua said the two men, who are cousins, were being questioned.
Foray, who regularly travels alone, arrived in Malaysia on May 5 after touring India and Sri Lanka. She spent a couple of nights in Malacca before leaving for Pulau Tioman on May 9.
Foray's family suspected something was wrong after they stopped receiving e-mails and telephone calls from Foray, who had contacted them regularly. Her last e-mail to them was sent from Malacca.
Foray has blue eyes, chestnut brown hair and is 157cm tall. Those with information on her whereabouts can contact the embassy at 03-2053 5500 or Crisis Centre for Individual Cases Unit at the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry at +6597319123.
From The Star, "Cops hopeful on missing tourist, search continues for Frenchwoman".
Police are looking through footage from closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras along the popular Jonker Walk as the search for missing French tourist, Stephanie Foray, intensified.
State police chief Datuk Chuah Ghee Lye said besides the CCTV recordings, police also obtained a video recording from a shop selling chicken rice-balls in the area.
He said initial investigations revealed that the 30-year-old French woman had checked into a hostel in Jonker Walk on May 7 and left two days later.
"We are now trying to ascertain if she was alone or had company. This case is top priority even though no report had been lodged.
"We are combing all hostels, guest houses and budget hotels in and around Jonker Walk. We are also gathering information from taxi drivers and trishaw riders."
Chuah said since Foray had gone missing two months ago, police needed time to go through all CCTV recordings.
"We have also sought assistance from our counterparts in Johor and Negri Sembilan besides working closely with the French embassy and Interpol to help track down Foray."
The New Straits Times also learnt yesterday that a French liaison officer, based in Singapore, met senior police officers at the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman on the missing woman.
The officer will be meeting with police here today for updates on the search operation.
Foray was believed to have spent time here before she went missing. Her last email to her family in France were sent from here on May 8.
Foray, a communications officer with a French civil service, arrived in Malaysia on May 5 after spending several months in India and Sri Lanka.
In her email to her family, she said she spent two days in Kuala Lumpur before heading to a small town outside the city.
Foray allegedly met a man who invited her to his house to use his computer.
She also met another man on the same day and had lunch and dinner with him. He also took her to watch a movie and went on a walkabout at a shopping mall.
According to her family, Foray was a seasoned traveller and embarked on this holiday in November. They claimed that wherever she went, Foray would contact her family and friends through emails at least once a week.
Her friends and family, however, started to get worried when they stopped receiving her emails after May 8, and could not reach her on the mobile phone.
Foray is 157cm tall with an average build, has blue eyes and chestnut brown hair.
From Asiaone, "CCTVs may give clues on missing tourist". (16/07/11)
Missing Frenchwoman Stephanie Foray spent May 8 with a man in a small town outside Kuala Lumpur.
In her last email to her family in France, the 30-year-old communications officer with the French civil service said she spent the whole day with the man.
"I met a guy and spent the day with him. We had lunch together at 3pm, rice, chicken and a dessert with a soya milk and ginger sauce.
"Then we went to a huge shopping mall and walked a little bit around before going to the movies. We saw Fast and Furious, that was a nice film in English, of course, so I couldn't understand everything but I recommend it to you. It's worth seeing.
"Then, after the movie, he invited me for dinner and that was a real treat, an omelette with oysters and some fish with a beer sauce. That was a nice day but life is so different here from India or Sri Lanka," said Foray in her last email to her family on May 8.
In an earlier email, Foray also told her family that she had more time on her hands now after coming to Malaysia.
She also told them she was invited by another man to his house so that she could use his computer.
Foray said the man who invited her to his house and the one she spent time with on May 8 were two different people.
Foray's family, in an email to the New Straits Times, said she was a seasoned globetrotter who had already travelled to Senegal, the Canary Islands and Thailand before embarking on her latest holiday in November last year.
According to her family, she would travel for at least two weeks every year, visiting different countries.
Foray was travelling alone when she left France in November.
Her family knew she visited India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, but could not say if she went elsewhere before coming here.
Her family said Foray was always in constant contact with them and her friends through emails. She would email them at least once a week.
Family and friends started worrying when the emails stopped after May 8 and when they could not reach her on the mobile phone.
The French embassy, which helped the New Straits Times get in touch with Foray's family, is hoping that the men she last met here would come forward to shed some light on her whereabouts.
Her disappearance was highlighted in several newspapers here last week after her photograph was made available by the French embassy.
An embassy spokesman said even after news of her disappearance was published, there had been no word on her whereabouts.
The family had sought the assistance of the French government and Malaysian authorities to locate the woman.
Foray is 157cm tall with an average build, has blue eyes and chestnut brown hair.
From Asiaone, "Tourist had a date before going missing". (14/07/11)
