Rebecca Reusch, 15, vanished after visiting her sister and brother-in-law back in 2019 – now police are carrying out a search where they believe her remains could be
There are hopes of a major breakthrough in the case of missing 15-year-old Rebecca Reusch as police pursue new leads and search a property linked to her grandparents.
Police announced this morning the property belongs to the grandparents of Rebecca’s brother-in-law, who has been a suspect since she vanished in 2019. Detectives have alleged Rebecca may have been killed by her brother-in-law on the morning of February 18 of that year.
Authorities have been unable to find a body since she vanished. Despite this, the brother-in-law – now 33 – was arrested twice back in March 2019 before being released due to a lack of evidence.
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The public prosecutor’s office said in a statement, they suspect “the now 33-year-old accused may have killed his then 15-year-old sister-in-law on the morning of February 18, 2019, and taken her body and belongings – at least temporarily – to his grandparents’ property in Tauche.”
Schoolgirl Rebecca was reported missing after she spent the night at the home of her sister and brother-in-law in the Berlin suburb of Britz, in Germany. Her sister left the home early the following day and Rebecca never arrived at school.
On the day Rebecca vanished, her brother-in-law’s car was seen on the A12 motorway heading toward Frankfurt, in central Germany. Investigators are now searching the property in Brandenburg, a county some 54 miles southwest of the German capital.
Officers are searching the home and a garage area using a drone, as well as using ground-penetrating radar and an excavator, reported RBB24. A cadaver dog was also used at the location and nearby residents have also been interviewed.
An estimated 115 police officers were searching the site today, reports German outlet Die Zeit. Further investigations of the site were due to be carried out in the next few days.
Prosecutors have urged people not to interfere with the investigation. It comes after online sleuths carried out investigations of their own.