‘Missing’ Swedish woman not abducted or harmed

by Jayampathy Jayasinghe

The Swedish woman who went missing while vacationing at a holiday resort at Mirissa and identified as Marie Jonsson Sillen (23) from Vargardan in Vastergoland, on her re-appearance made a statement at the Hikkaduwa police station that she was neither abducted nor harmed by anyone or faced any problem during her absence from Mirissa.

Hikkaduwa police said that she met a travel guide at a night club in the Galle area and had travelled with him to another place. She was due to leave Sri Lanka last week, police sources said.

Sillen re-appeared last week at Hikkaduwa unscathed, contrary to reports in the international and Swedish media that she was abducted by some unknown persons while in Galle, Police Media Spokesman, SSP Prishantha Jayakody told the Sunday Observer.

Her sudden disappearance sparked off a controversy abroad when a message was posted on her Facebook page on March 5 that she was robbed of her belongings and beaten by some unknown persons.

According to reports, she had even sent an e-mail to a friend and two days later the Interpol issued a missing persons alert. However, it is still not clear as to why she sent a false message on Facebook and an email message.

Following her sudden disappearance, the Swedish Embassy in New Delhi, the Swedish police, the Foreign Ministry and local police launched a search for her.