A few days before he turns 18, Stéphane has disappeared.

It was February 11, 1994. Despite these years of absence, his mother, grandparents and cousins ​​hope to see him again one day, remaining convinced that he is alive.

They confide in Olivier Delacroix about his mysterious disappearance.

TESTIMONY

Stéphane, Estela's son, disappeared on February 11, 1994, on the eve of his 18th birthday.

That day, he left their home in Lagny-sur-Marne, as usual, but he never returned.

No investigation could be carried out, because when Estela reported the disappearance of her son, he had come of age.

Estela and her family then conducted their research alone.

They entrust Olivier Delacroix to be convinced that Stéphane is not dead, keeping the hope of seeing him again one day.

>> Listen to Estela's testimony in full here

Estela remembers the day her son, Stéphane, disappeared: "He got up in the morning normally, since he had to go to training. We lived in Lagny-sur-Marne and the training was in Meaux. He was there. had breakfast, then left home at 7:30 am I never saw him again. He left without his papers. I found his ID card at home. Everything remained at home. home, as if he had left to come back. 

The day before he disappeared, he asked me if he could celebrate his birthday at home with all his gang of friends. Since his friends weren't very popular with my husband, I told him no. I told him that I preferred to rent him a room, but that his friends would not come to the house. It stopped there. The next day, he kissed me as usual to say hello. We had breakfast together and he left. 

The next morning, when I saw that he had not returned, I went to the police station to say that my son was missing.

They told me we had to wait three days.

I waited for the three days.

When I returned, it was her 18th birthday.

They told me that since he was of legal age they were required to tell me that they had seen him if they checked him, but not where.

So there was no investigation.

We would no longer hear about Stéphane.

I felt it like that. 

"

I looked for him everywhere

"

He was doing stupid things. He did not pay for the metro and the train. He entered a pavilion, it is his biggest mistake. He was one of those people who didn't like going to school. Automatically, we drag the street and we end up doing delinquency. In my opinion, he must have been having problems with his buddies. I later learned that he frequented people who were not at all respectable in the Orly Parc district in Lagny-sur-Marne. I only knew one, but this boy always said to me, 'Don't put your nose in this. These are much older people who are not social. ' 

That's all I could find out. I reported it to the police who declared the case disturbing disappearance. I looked for it everywhere. I went to the cellars of Orly Parc. I went to see all his acquaintances. I know he often went to the Gare du Nord and La Défense, it's very big. I wandered the streets and looked at all the young people. All the possible hypotheses go through the head. We go from discouragement to the hope that he comes home. 

At first, I received phone calls, but they did not answer me.

I wondered if it was Stéphane who couldn't speak.

So I was talking to this person on the other end of the phone.

I never thought that Stéphane could have ended his life.

He loved life too much.

I hope he's alive, I want to hope so.

If I saw him, I think I would eat him to fuck.

I don't think I could even talk to him.

I would tie him up and never leave him in my life.

It would be the greatest joy.

"

I wouldn't want to die without seeing it

"

Stéphane's grandparents remain very affected by his disappearance. His grandfather recalls their relationship: "I have fond memories of him. For him, it was his grandpa who counted. We were great friends both. I can't forget him. The only thing that matters. for me, it's that we haven't lost hope. I have him all the time in front of me. We're a very close family. He must think of us, because we were together all the time, especially he and I."

Stéphane's grandmother still hopes to see him again: "I sometimes think about the fact that if he were alive, I would have great-grandchildren from him. I think about that, but I don't know if I will see them one day. I wouldn't want to die without seeing him walk through the door. If he hears us, let him come. I look at his picture every day. I talk to him all the time. I have to talk to him . I think maybe he had an accident and lost his memory. "

"

Something in me tells me it's alive

"

While the whole family now lives in Spain, Valérie, Stéphane's cousin, still lives in France and continues to search in the hope of finding his cousin: "Did he want to flee to protect the family because 'he had done little silly things? Did he get on board somewhere? Did he leave on his own for a little while, thinking to himself that he would come back, then the gears made that' Does he not dare to come back? I write to the Salvation Army, the Foreign Legion, the Red Cross. I write to all the associations concerned by disappearances or which deal with homeless people. 

I have virtually a large cabinet with lots of drawers. When I receive a negative response, I close one drawer and open others. Until I close everything, I will continue. It is a way of not abandoning it and of keeping it alive. For me, he is not dead. He is alive. Something in me tells me he's alive somewhere. One of the greatest joys I could have would be for my grandparents to see their grandson again before they leave. When someone is dead, we know where he is, we bury him. But there is nothing there. When you have nothingness, you can't do anything.

After Stéphane's disappearance, Estela confides that her couple was shattered: "At the time of her disappearance, we were married. I only divorced in 1999. We all shut up. Life at home n 'was not cheerful. There was more sadness than cheerfulness in the house. My husband reproached me for having been too much of a mother for Stéphane, for having wasted his youth and for having brought up badly. for not having fulfilled his role of father. Stéphane would have needed a much more severe father. Since then, we have not been on good terms. 

Years after Stéphane's disappearance, Estela contemplates the reasons why he might not come back: “Maybe he has another completely different life and he doesn't need me anymore because he's become a man. maybe judged that I led him until he was 18 and that he had to take off. He's always with me. I think about him, I talk to him. We create an imaginary life for ourselves. 'having near us. I imagine him in a house with his job, his wife and the troubles there is in a couple. It makes me happy. I would respect that he remains in silence, a little sign me would suffice. "

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