“The door was open, the car is gone”: Flemish couple missing in Tenerife

For several days now, the photos and description of the Flemish couple have been on the website of the Spanish National Center for Missing Persons (CNDES). According to that website, the couple has been missing since Wednesday, April 24. They were reportedly reported missing that day, and an investigation has been ongoing since then.

Acquaintances and friends of the couple believe that they have disappeared since Monday, April 22. “They were last seen in their hometown, Callao Salvaje,” it said. Laura Trappeniers responded to an advertisement on the internet that afternoon at 4:37 PM. Later that day, Laura and Marc went to yoga class.

That same evening, the alarm reportedly went off in the couple’s home. The emergency center would then have contacted the people who had registered Laura and Marc, in case an emergency occurred. But those people – another Flemish couple from the village, were on holiday outside Tenerife that day.

Yoga class

“No one has seen Marc and Laura yet,” says Jeanine, a Dutch friend of the couple. “The next day a man who maintains the swimming pool for them saw that there was a light on in the house and that the back door was unlocked.” Because the couple did not show up for yoga class on Wednesday, the alarm was raised.

Opel Mokka

Their dark blue Opel Mokka with Spanish license plate has also disappeared, according to the search report. According to Jeanine, who went to the house on Thursday evening, there are even more alarming elements. “Some keys and Laura’s mobile phone were left in the house. Laura would never leave if her house wasn’t cleaned up. But for example, there was still a glass on the table.”

“And then there is the couple’s cat. They were very concerned about the animal, and they always provided shelter. When they went out for a few days, a friend from the Netherlands came to Tenerife to take care of the cat. Not now. No, they did not leave voluntarily.”

Painter

“We have been informed of the disappearance of a Belgian couple in Tenerife,” the FPS Foreign Affairs said. “The FPS Foreign Affairs in Brussels and the Belgian Consulate in Tenerife are following this case closely. We are in contact with the other competent Spanish and Belgian authorities about this.”

Marc Olbrechts and Laura Trappeniers are said to come from Flemish Brabant. Documents on the internet show that they have been living in Callao Salvaje since May 2009. Olbrechts is a painter and has held several exhibitions on the island. “We are very concerned,” the couple’s friends say.