At noon today, a Reykjanes District Court judge approved a two-week custody of one of the suspects in the disappearance of Birna Brjánsdóttir, the 20-year-old Icelandic woman who has been missing since Saturday morning, RÚV reports.
The Reykjavík Metropolitan Police had requested a four-week custody in the interest of the investigation. Inspector Einar Guðberg Jónsson stated the ruling would be appealed to the Supreme Court, so the custody could be extended.
A four-week custody was also requested for the second suspect, and an approval is being awaited.
No decision has been made regarding whether to request custody of the third suspect. Police have until tonight to decide, since he was arrested later than the other two. All three suspects are crew members of the trawler Polar Nanoq from Greenland.
Einar spoke of the first two suspects on the RÚV news hour at 12:20 pm. He stated that the police have a well-founded suspicion that they played a part in the disappearance of Birna. “We need more time to investigate their potential role in the matter,” he commented.
When asked if they were suspected of punishable conduct, he replied, “Yes, we suspect them of punishable conduct.”
Vísir reported at noon that an examination of the red Kia Rio, presumably rented by the suspects, suggested a criminal act was committed inside it. Chief Superintendent Grímur Grímsson would not confirm that report, but Vísir claims to have a source for the information.
The rest of the crew members of Polar Nanoq have been questioned, but none other than the three are suspected of wrongdoing.
UPDATE: A Reykjanes District Court judge has approved a two-week custody of the second suspect as well, according to Vísir.
