Yann Bourdon, a 27-year-old Frenchman, left his home in Ile-de-France in the summer of 2020 to travel. His family had no news of him since 4 August 2021. He suddenly presented himself to the French consulate in Cairo, a little over a year later, on 9 August 2022.

Bourdon was a sociable person. He studied history at Sorbonne University in Paris and spoke 4 languages.

He arrived in Instanbul on 24 July 2021, and from there booked a flight to Sharm el Sheikh, a popular tourist city. On the morning of 25 July, he landed in the city. He visited the town, climbed Mount Sinai, visited Saint Catherine's monastery, and spent time in the nearby villages. He hitchhiked between cities and throughout his travels he would email his family once he had wifi.

On 28 July 2021, Bourdon sent a long detailed email to his family, discussing his plans in Egypt and in Cairo. According to his mother, he had said that he was going to Suez to meet an off-duty police officer who wanted to 'talk to him', that the officer gave Bourdon a ride to Cairo, and that the officer had invited Bourdon to have a drink (some sources say dinner, some say a drink) with friends that night.

The officer had told Bourdon that he was returning from vacation and that he could give Bourdon a ride to Cairo. Bourdon planned to go to Cairo to visit the museum there as well as the Copt district (the Copts are a Christian ethnic group native to North Africa; they have inhabited Egypt and Sudan since ancient times). The officer dropped Bourdon at an underground station in downtown Cairo. Before allowing Bourdon to leave, the officer invited him to join him for the dinner/drinks with friends. Bourdon agreed and joined them on the night of 28 July.

On 4 August 2021, Bourdon replied to an email from his sister, confirming that he'd write to them soon, but they never heard from him since then.

Investigation

Bourdon travelled a lot as he was passionate about learning about other cultures. Therefore, he was often without internet. When he missed his mom's birthday in September 2021, the family got worried but figured he just didn't have internet and didn't want to raise an unnecessary alert. However, when his sister's birthday came and went in November 2021 and they still didn't hear anything, they contacted the French Foreign Ministry, who contacted the French Embassy in Egypt, who then contacted Egyptian authorities. In Paris, his family filed an official missing persons report.

At first, Egyptian officials claimed Bourdon had never been in Egypt, which frustrated his family. However, French national police confirmed that he had arrived in Sharm el Sheikh on 25 July 2021, after he had travelled through Lithuania, Macedonia, Croatia, Kurdistan, and Turkey.

His bank card was used at an ATM near the Sadat subway station in Tahrir Square in Cairo to empty his account in 4 consecutive cash withdrawals on 7 August, a few days after his last email to his sister.  

No CCTV could be recovered of Bourdon and the registers of hostels (Bourdon stayed in a hostel) didn't have his name.

While Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was in Paris in July 2022, Bourdon's family raised placards asking 'Where is Yann Bourdon, President Sissi?". However, French police escorted them away from the sidewalk for identity checks before el-Sisi's motorcade went past.

Follow up

On 9 August 2022, he called his family back in Paris, and the next day he safely travelled back to France. There's no news on the identity of the police officer who gave Bourdon a ride and invited him for dinner.

The group Committee for Justice (CFJ) based in Geneva was following the case and has said that his case may be an 'enforced disappearance'. It submitted a complaint to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances to urge the UN to pressure Egypt and France to hold transparent investigations.

The Italian newspaper 'La Stampa' pointed out that Bourdon's disappearance echoes that of Giulio Regeni, a 28 year old Italian student who disappeared in Cairo in 2016. His body was found a few days after his abduction, tortured and mutilated. The case caused deep strains between Italian and Egyptian diplomatic relations due to the involvement of members of the Egyptian secret service in Regeni's abduction.

Source

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-french-tourist-went-missing-reappears

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-french-man-bourdon-disappeared-meeting-police-officer

https://news.yahoo.com/france-egypt-pressed-missing-backpacker-143643498.html

https://www.lefigaro.fr/faits-divers/un-francais-disparait-en-egypte-sa-famille-lance-un-appel-a-temoins-20220713

https://www.closermag.fr/vecu/faits-divers/qu-est-il-arrive-a-yann-bourdon-ce-jeune-francais-est-porte-disparu-en-egypte-depuis-un-an-1616882

https://www.arpd.fr/actualite-8253-yanna-bourdon-27-ans-disparu-au-caire-egypte.html

https://www.tf1info.fr/justice-faits-divers/le-touriste-francais-yann-bourdon-disparu-il-y-a-un-an-au-caire-est-reapparu-2229464.html

https://www.nouvelobs.com/societe/20220718.OBS61037/ou-est-passe-yann-bourdon-un-an-apres-sa-disparition-en-egypte-sa-famille-deplore-l-absence-d-elements-nouveaux.html