Odile Ahouanwanou: the worrying disappearance
French police have issued a witness appeal to find Beninese Olympic athlete Odile Ahouanwanou
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"Odile has been missing since 10 September from Sotteville-Lès-Rouen. She dropped her child off at the childminder's in the morning and did not come back to pick them up. Her last known location is Neufchâtel-en-Bray. She is driving a Volkswagen Polo" – that was the announcement with which Seine-Maritime police launched a witness appeal to try to trace Odile Ahouanwanou.
The disappearance of the 33-year-old mother is considered worrying, as she has not been heard from since Tuesday 10 September. Last seen at the childminding service in Sotteville-lès-Rouen, the Beninese athlete has since vanished without trace. The fact that she did not come back to collect her child at the end of the day is what alerted the police.
Read also: Odile Ahouanwanou: "The level of heptathlon in Africa is low"
The disappearance is the talk of the local area, as Odile Ahouanwanou enjoys a modest profile. The Savalou native is registered with Stade Sottevillais 76. She is also a youth coach there, as well as, above all, being an international athlete. Representing Benin, she is a three-time African heptathlon champion and has competed at the London and Tokyo Olympic Games, even serving as her delegation's flag bearer. She also holds the Benin national record in this discipline, as well as in the 100m hurdles, the high jump and the shot put.
Since news of her disappearance emerged, people who know her locally, as well as the Beninese public, are hoping she will be found safe and well. With no sighting reported so far, police have given a description to help find her: Odile Ahouanwanou is 1.78 m tall, of athletic build, with brown eyes and short black hair. What she was wearing when she disappeared is, however, unknown.
#AppelATémoin | Help our investigators: Odile has been missing since 10 September from #SottevilleLèsRouen. She dropped her child off at the childminder's in the morning and did not come back to pick them up.
Her last known location is Neufchâtel-en-Bray. She is driving a Volkswagen Polo pic.twitter.com/6BrwN53NIk— Police nationale 76 (@PoliceNat76) September 17, 2024