Fugitive British Schoolgirl and Teacher Found in France
By Laurent Abadie
A British schoolgirl and her married maths teacher, who triggered a Europe-wide hunt after running away together a week ago, were found Friday by police as they strolled in a southwestern French city. The teacher, Jeremy Forrest, 30, was arrested and placed in custody in Bordeaux's central police station, while Megan Stammers, 15, was under police protection, officials said. "The couple were found on a public street in the centre of Bordeaux," a spokesman said, adding that Stammers was in good health and would be reunited with her family "as soon as possible". Another police source said they were arrested in the city's main shopping street -- the 1.2 kilometre pedestrian rue Saint-Catherine -- while going for a job interview. Forrest was later seen leaving the police station on Friday evening in an unmarked police car. He was hidden from view by officers and the vehicle left for an unknown destination, accompanied by two escort cars. A source close to the investigation said Stammers would be handed over to the British consulate in Bordeaux "as early as Friday evening or Saturday." The pair were located thanks to "credible testimony given 48 hours ago, which did not come from the couple's entourage," the prosecutor's office said. Prosecutors emphasised that French police were not investigating the case but simply carrying out an international arrest warrant issued by British authorities. The pair had not been seen since boarding a cross-Channel ferry together on September 20. CCTV pictures were released of them holding hands and walking arm in arm onboard the ferry from Dover to the northern French port of Calais. Their parents had appealed for them to get in touch but played down fears that the schoolgirl could be in any danger. Stammers' stepfather said Friday he was "over the moon" after they were found, and thanked French and British police for helping to trace them. "We have our daughter back and it's just such joy," Martin Stammers told Britain's Sky News outside the family home in Sussex in southeastern England. He said he had "no comment" when asked what he felt towards Forrest. Terry Boatwright, head teacher of Bishop Bell Church of England School, where Megan is a pupil, said the school was "delighted" she had been found. The arrest warrant was issued on the basis of a suspected offence of child abduction although there was never any suggestion that Stammers had not left voluntarily. Police in Sussex said that they had been found as a result of coverage in the French media. French authorities had been accused by the British media of failing to take the disappearance of Stammers seriously after some judicial officials were quoted as saying the couple were not being actively looked for. Under French law, a 15-year-old is not considered a minor in sexual terms, unlike in Britain, where the age of consent is 16. Forrest could however be deemed to have committed a crime in France if he is found to have abused the position of authority he had as Stammers' teacher. The teacher, who plays in a rock band under the stage name Jeremy Ayre and is married to a 31-year-old woman, had hinted at a "moral dilemma" on his blog four months ago. France has open borders with Spain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg under the Schengen Agreement, which had raised speculation that the pair may have moved on across the continent.
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