Search for Cordes will continue,
but authorities not saying much
PHILIPSBURG--Searchers gathered enough information while diving in French St. Martin waters in search of American Leta Cordes’ corpse this week that they plan to do it again in the vicinity of Etang de Poisson, prosecutors said Thursday.
But that is all authorities were willing to say, for fear of hurting the investigation into Cordes’ 18-month-old disappearance. Dutch, French and U.S. teams have swum the French Quarter pond since Monday looking for the 49-year-old woman’s remains. She is presumed dead.
Dutch-side prosecutors offered a terse press statement about the search, assuring that they would be more informative when possible. Prosecutor Rienk Mud said, “My hands are tied” in revealing information about the case. “It is all I can say at the moment,” Mud said about his statement to media houses. “In the interest of the investigation, this is all we can do now.”
The press release confirmed that 15 divers had made “extensive searches” in the area this week, including within mangroves that shade the pond. “The whole area was divided into sectors and thoroughly searched,” the statement read. “In some cases, waters were very shallow and could be searched on foot.”
Findings there were promising enough to warrant more searches, according to the statement. “Based on information gathered during these searches it was decided to execute another search attempt in the vicinity of Etang de Poisson,” the statement said.
Authorities on both sides of the island have searched for Cordes since she went missing on January 11, 2008. Her husband, Frank Cordes was arrested and released, and international media houses have flocked to St. Maarten/St. Martin to cover the story.
Mud could not say when teams would resume searching. “Not even that, because it could well be that it [will be] something different than diving,” Mud said. “Rest assured, the minute I can … tell you what the situation is, I will do so.”
Earlier searches near Cordes’ Dawn Beach home in Oyster Pond and in Le Galion and Coconut Grove had revealed nothing.
http://www.thedailyherald.com/news/daily/m040/cordesm040.htmlMud: Cordes search
over, nothing found
PHILIPSBURG--Authorities ended a fourth round of searches for missing American woman Leta Cordes on Friday. “We are no closer to finding her,” prosecutors said.
Divers searched waters in French St. Martin every day last week looking for Cordes, who disappeared on January 11, 2008. Acting on “new information” about the possible location of her remains, 15 Dutch, French and U.S. searchers swam ponds in French Quarter and navigated mangroves alongside the water.
Prosecutor Rienk Mud said Sunday that the searches had revealed no trace of Cordes. It was the fourth large-scale search for the woman since she went missing and the second since the start of this year. “That was the last hope we had,” said Mud. “There will be no more searches and we have to wait for new things to pop up.”
Authorities were tight-lipped about the searches until Thursday, hoping to find Cordes’ remains. Mud said they wouldn’t start searches again until they had reason to do so. “We have to wait and see if anything comes up before revitalising the search,” Mud told The Daily Herald.
Searchers have used dinghies and boats and helicopters looking for Cordes. Investigators held Frank Cordes, Leta’s husband, as the main suspect. The courts kept him jailed for nearly four months while prosecutors tried to prove he was involved, but they couldn’t keep him in custody any longer for lack of evidence.
A search at Le Galion Beach and Coconut Grove in February turned up nothing.
Authorities stopped believing Cordes was alive several months ago. Mud would not say what new information had prompted the renewed search. “I’m not going to tell you that,” he said tersely.
http://www.thedailyherald.com/news/daily/m042/mudm042.html
