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him. interview. ing." came back. 128 REVELATIONS ties now started working under the assumption that the whole thing was a hoax, perhaps an attempt on Franck's part to evade military service. Led by Adjutant Maniela, the interrogations were resumed the next day, and again on Wednesday. But there was nothing new. Franck had not reappeared, although the case was now on the front page of every newspaper, on the air with every news bulletin. Border patrols and customs had been alerted, and airport security was on the lookout for Salomon and Prevost were under virtual twenty-four-hour surveil- lance. Searches of their apartment were made to verify that Franck was not hidden away somewhere. During the day a plainclothesman stayed with them, overtly to protect them from the harassment of the media: in fact, he was thus able to listen to their every word, to witness every The gendarmes now entertained a new idea: perhaps Prevost and Salomon had murdered Franck and hidden his body! They interrogated Franck's mother and his girlfriend Mamina. Both rejected the murder scenario with contempt. The police and the gendarmerie were now spinning their wheels. They consulted Commandant Cochereau, who was in charge of the compilation of unusual phenomena reports. He stated that the idea that some unidentified flying object could be responsible for Franck's disap- pearance was "not credible at all" and that the so-called victim might just have wandered off for some simple reason, "on foot or by hitchhik- In the meantime the media were besieging the two tired witnesses, and several UFO groups were eagerly trying to use their testimony in support of their various theories. The official French task force for the study of UFOs, known as GEPAN, stayed carefully away from the whole subject. And then, on Monday December 3, 1979, at 4:20 A.M., the victim