French police seek clues in abduction of luxury hotel owner

French investigators said Tuesday they were searching for clues into the abduction of a 76-year-old luxury hotel owner a day after she was snatched near her Riviera home.
Prosecutor Jean-Michael Pretre said Jacqueline Veyrac was getting into her SUV when the abductors grabbed her, covered her head and forced her into a waiting van that sped off.
“A woman of that age abducted in these conditions makes us all very worried,” Pretre said.
Veyrac, whose husband died five years ago, co-owns the five-star Grand Hotel in nearby Cannes with one of her sons and the pair run a gourmet restaurant in Nice called La Reserve.
She was the victim of a kidnapping attempt three years ago whose motive was never discovered.
Investigators are examining Veyrac’s black sports utility vehicle for possible fingerprints or other evidence. But a source close to the probe told AFP there was “no information at this stage.”
The freesheet French daily 20 Minutes quoted the family’s lawyer Sophie Jonquet as saying the kidnappers contacted one of Veyrac’s sons on Monday afternoon.
“The family is very upset and won’t make any statements at this stage. Too much has already been said and I don’t want to put my client in danger,” she told 20 minutes.
The seafront Grand Hotel, bought by the Veyrac family in 1963 and refurbished, is close to the Palais des Festivals where the Cannes Film Festival is held each May.