MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine police on the track of two French tourist packers killed in Salta

Judge Martín Pérez confirmed evidence from the bodies of the murdered women would enable to run DNA tests

Police in the Argentine north-west province of Salta reported to have two suspects following a wide search Sunday across the local area of San Lorenzo for the killer of the two French tourists whose bodies were found on Friday, officials reported.

“Some 80 police officers conducted a detailed search of the area for evidence, clues and for those responsible,” said the policeman José Hinojosa, head of press for the Salta Police force.

Hinojosa revealed that “up until midday there have been no arrests over the murders,” and that the investigation was paused due to the arrival of nightfall, furthering that it would continue tomorrow.

He then explained that the officers “are advancing very slowly because it is a hilly area, with a lot of steep slopes, high trees and cold temperatures,” making it more difficult to carry out the search.

However the Salta media said that two suspects had been detained for questioning.

The women’s bodies were found at a roadside in tourist area, and the order of events into how they were murdered has yet to be defined. One of them had signs of having been raped.

From Paris, the Foreign Ministry demanded that the murder of two French tourists who were found dead two days ago in the province of Salta “be solved”.

“We hope for a breakthrough in the investigation and that those responsible are identified and taken to court,” representatives from the Ministry said in a statement.

In a letter published on the Le Parisien and Le Nouvel Observateur, the French government assured that their embassy and consulate in Buenos Aires “are closely working with the local authorities in order to solve this dramatic situation.”

Judge Martín Pérez, who has taken the case, confirmed that forensic authorities had managed to acquire evidence from the bodies of the murdered women that would enable them to run DNA tests in order to identify the murderer.

According to Pérez, the evidence was found “even though the bodies were found several days after they went missing.”

Pérez said he remained optimistic toward finding those responsible since the scene of the crime “has provided more than enough evidence” in order to do so.

The two murdered women were identified as Moumni Houdop and Cassandre Bouvier, both of them French citizens. One of the victims was murdered by a gun shot to the head, while the other was shot in the back with a .22 calibre gun, the forensic report said.

Their bodies were found on the side of a popular trail among tourists that goes through a privately owned area. Visitors are usually told to hire a private guide and to carry a cell phone that will help in case of an emergency.