Skull found on Brittany beach

Discovery stokes memories of murder hunt and family’s disappearance in 1999

A HUMAN skull has been found on a beach in Brittany.

It was discovered on the beach at Plérin, Côtes-d'Armor and has been taken to Nantes for DNA testing.

The public prosecutor in Saint-Brieuc said that the skull was unlikely to be that of anyone who had recently gone missing and was likely to be linked to the Godard Affair – the disappearance of a family from Normandy.

Yves Godard, a doctor and acupuncturist disappeared in 1999 along with his wife Marie-France and two children Camille (6) et Marius (4).

Dr Godard was last seen with his two children when customs officials met them on board a yacht at Saint-Brieuc, Brittany where they were due to head to Saint-Malo.

When the family never returned from their sailing trip police began an investigation and found traces of blood in the family home in Tilly-sur-Seulles, Normandy. A murder investigation was launched with Mr Godard as the chief suspect, but the body of his wife was never discovered.

Subsequently a skull belonging to Camille was discovered by a fishing boat in 2000, followed by the femur and tibia of the father which was found in similar circumstances in 2006.

The investigation was officially closed in September 2012 without any conclusion.

Photo: Saint-Brieuc where the family was last seen. Flickr/Nathlemp