34-year-old missing

Styria: Arrest of a 30-year-old police officer

Johanna G., who is from southern Styria, is currently still missing.(Bild: Storchenstation Steiermark / Birbaumer Christofh, Krone KREATIV)

Johanna G., a 34-year-old woman from Styria, has been missing since Saturday, and a large-scale search operation is underway. According to police reports, a friend of the young woman has now been arrested – ironically, he is himself a police officer and Cobra officer. He is said to have had the last contact with the woman, but denies having anything to do with her disappearance. 

As reported, the mother of 34-year-old Johanna G. filed a report on Saturday evening after she had been unable to reach her daughter since Friday evening. The fitness trainer was last seen at her home address in Tillmitsch (Leibnitz district).

From Sunday afternoon, the missing person report by the association "Österreich findet euch" (Austria finds you) spread like wildfire on social media. On Monday, the state police department also went public with the case.

Cobra officer arrested
According to reports, police first searched the young woman's apartment, where she lives alone. However, she was not found there. Since then, the search for the 34-year-old, who previously lived in eastern Styria, has been in full swing.

According to initial investigations by the police, there are no indications of a crime in the missing woman's apartment.(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

"According to current investigations, neither a crime nor an accident or suicide can be ruled out," the police said in a statement on Monday morning. The investigation is proceeding in all directions.

30-year-old is an officer with the Cobra special unit
In the evening, the state police department confirmed that an arrest had been made in connection with the disappearance of Johanna G. Particularly explosive: according to information obtained by "Krone," the suspect is a 30-year-old officer from the Cobra special unit, who is believed to have been the last person to have contact with the 34-year-old on Friday evening and to have been at her home. Johanna G. is said to have met him last year on a dating platform, but not to have been in a relationship with him.

The police released a photo of Johanna G.(Bild: LPD Stmk., Krone KREATIV)

Suspect initially denied contact
During questioning, the 30-year-old man from southeastern Styria is said to have been cooperative, but initially denied having met with the missing woman on Friday. However, according to a chat history between Johanna G. and a friend, the man was indeed at her home on Friday. The man then confessed to having been in contact with her on Friday.

However, the Cobra officer denies having anything to do with the young woman's disappearance. According to the police, there are currently no clues to suggest otherwise, except for the contact.

Search continues
Meanwhile, the police have intensified their search for the missing woman. On Monday, dozens of police officers once again searched known locations and running routes for the missing woman.

Johanna G. is 34 years old, 176 centimeters tall, has dark blonde hair, and wears glasses. The fitness trainer has several small tattoos on her forearms and a rhinestone on one of her incisors.

The Styrian State Criminal Investigation Office is accepting information at 059 133/60-3333.