Investigators into the death of a German yachtsman have not ruled out the possibility he was eaten by cannibals after he stopped off on an idyllic island during a sailing tour of the Pacific Ocean.
Stefan Ramin, 40, from Hamburg, disappeared last month after reaching the remote tropical island of Nuku Hiva in French Polynesia.
After a week of searches, charred human remains and clothes have been found near a campfire in a remote valley on the island, raising fears that he may have been attacked and eaten by cannibals.
Testing in Paris will conclude whether the ashes belong to Mr Ramin, but is expected to take several weeks.
A squad of 22 police officers on the island are now searching for Henri Haiti, a local guide who took Mr Ramin on a goat hunting trip in the mountains of Nuku Hiva and is believed to be the last person to see him alive.
After setting off on the hunt, Mr Haiti returned to tell Ms Ramin's girlfriend Heike Dorsch, 37, that there had been an accident and that Mr Ramin had been injured. But when she tried to raise the alarm, Mr Haiti allegedly attacked her and tied her to a tree, before fleeing the scene.
Nuku Hiva has a population of just over 2000 and has a history of cannibalism, but the practice was believed to have ceased. The island featured in the stories of Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick.
Full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...830733/Cannibal-fear-over-German-tourist.html
Stefan Ramin, 40, from Hamburg, disappeared last month after reaching the remote tropical island of Nuku Hiva in French Polynesia.
After a week of searches, charred human remains and clothes have been found near a campfire in a remote valley on the island, raising fears that he may have been attacked and eaten by cannibals.
Testing in Paris will conclude whether the ashes belong to Mr Ramin, but is expected to take several weeks.
A squad of 22 police officers on the island are now searching for Henri Haiti, a local guide who took Mr Ramin on a goat hunting trip in the mountains of Nuku Hiva and is believed to be the last person to see him alive.
After setting off on the hunt, Mr Haiti returned to tell Ms Ramin's girlfriend Heike Dorsch, 37, that there had been an accident and that Mr Ramin had been injured. But when she tried to raise the alarm, Mr Haiti allegedly attacked her and tied her to a tree, before fleeing the scene.
Nuku Hiva has a population of just over 2000 and has a history of cannibalism, but the practice was believed to have ceased. The island featured in the stories of Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick.
Full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...830733/Cannibal-fear-over-German-tourist.html
