Police in Lørenskog northeast of Oslo say they’ve entered “a new phase” of the investigation into the disappearance and suspected kidnapping of a wealthy man’s wife eight months ago. They’d earlier asked for another NOK 18 million because of extraordinary expenses tied to the probe.
Anne-Elisabeth Hagen, age 69, disappeared from the home she shared with her businessman husband Tom Hagen on October 31 last year. He called police after finding what appeared to be a ransom note from kidnappers who would only communicate via encrypted electronic systems and demanded payment in bitcoins.
“We have gone through a major phase of collecting information, and searching for a track that can bring us further in the case,” investigation leader Tommy Brøske told state broadcaster NRK on Wednesday. “We haven’t found that.” Nor has there been any more communication from Hagen’s alleged abductors.
“Now we’re going into a deeper phase that will be time-consuming, with analytical approaches, looking at things in connection with one another and evaluating the meaning of various evidence that’s been secure,” Brøske said.
Since the investigation has demanded tremendous resources the local police have sought more funding and secured more help from other state police units. Teams of investigators continue to go through around 6,000 hours of surveillance video taken from road toll plazas, traffic cameras and petrol station in the hunt for the missing woman.
newsinenglish.no staff
