Shocking Arrests Made in Disappearance of French Family

The mystery of a missing French family has deepened with the arrests of two people believed to be the sister and brother-in-law of missing father Pascal Troadec. The 49-year-old vanished around Feb. 16 along with wife Brigitte, son Sebastien, 21, and 18-year-old daughter Charlotte. Investigators had earlier said they suspected the son of "putting in place a macabre plan aimed at snuffing out the members of his family," but sources told local media in Brest, almost 200 miles from the family's home in Nantes, that the sister and brother-in-law were arrested amid suspicions the disappearances were linked to a family dispute over inheritances, Deutsche Welle reports.

Chilling clues including bloodstains somebody had tried to wipe away were found in the Troadec home, though investigators said Friday they still believed there was a chance family members could be found alive, the BBC reports. Police say blood found in the home belonged to Sebastian and his parents but not Charlotte; some of her belongings were found by a jogger about three hours away from where she was last seen, reports AFP. The Telegraph reports that investigators, who described the scattering of clues as a "morbid treasure hunt," targeted the brother-in-law after finding his DNA in Sebastien's car, which was found abandoned 30 miles away from the family's home. (More France stories.)