Investigators in Canada and abroad are looking into unconfirmed reports that the suspect wanted in the brutal slaying of a Chinese university student has been spotted in France.
The reported sighting of Luka Rocco Magnotta, 29, took place last Friday in that country, according to Montreal police Cmdr. Ian Lafreniere.
"I can confirm this morning, that yes, he was seen in France in the past days," he told CTV's Question Period in a telephone interview on Sunday.
French officials say they're following up on claims made by two people who believe they saw the suspect in the northwest part of Paris, but no other details were available.
Montreal police have confirmed only that Magnotta left Canada on a flight bound for Europe May 26.
Three photos of a man standing in line at an airport security gate wearing a Mickey Mouse T-shirt appeared on Interpol's website Sunday attached to a profile of Magnotta.
But the photos appeared to have been taken down shortly after being posted, around 1 p.m. ET.
The unidentified man, who resembles Magnotta, is circled in red in the photos, but the airport isn't identified.
French media also reported Sunday that personal belongings of Magnotta were found in a hotel in suburban Paris as well as air sickness bags and pornographic magazines.
Police were able to track his travels through his cellphone activity, the reports said.
Thibault Raisse, a reporter with Le Parisien, said Sunday that about 50 officers in Paris are working on the case, tracking Magnotta's movements through the city.
"The problem is when they get to a place where he was, or where his cellphone shows that he was, it's always too late," Raisse told CTV News Channel in a telephone interview Sunday.
"So the last place we knew he was it was in the eastern suburb of Paris. The police went there yesterday morning and he had already left."
But police throughout France are on alert, and have been told to report to a central office in Paris if they have any information.
"(The story) is on every channel, the headline of every newspaper," Raisse said. "And the French people are getting interested in this story."
Le Figaro newspaper said it was unclear whether Magnotta was still in Paris, but police have tightened security at railway stations and airports.
The newspaper said Magnotta arrived at Roissy airport (Charles de Gaulle Airport) on May 26 and was later indentified on surveillance cameras.
"We're working closely with Interpol and with different agencies, more than 100 different agencies across the world," Lafreniere said.
Lafreniere told reporters Sunday that Montreal police have received more than 360 tips in the case.
Montreal police have issued a Canada-wide arrest warrant for Magnotta, who is a suspect in the murder of Concordia University student Jun Lin. Interpol has also added him to its wanted list.
Lin's torso was found in the garbage Tuesday behind an apartment building linked to Magnotta after the 33-year-old student was reported missing by a friend.
Police also believe it was Lin's hand and foot that were mailed to federal political party offices, with one package containing a human foot reaching the Conservative Party's headquarters.
Police also identified Lin as the likely victim killed in a gruesome film that began circulating the Internet several days ago.
Lafreniere said it's possible Magnotta is on the move and police don't want to stick to one location.
"He could everywhere, anywhere, so that's why we're working with Interpol and we need help from different countries now," Lafreniere told Question Period.
With little information to rely on in terms of criminal background, police are sorting through a considerable amount of online material it's believed the suspect posted.
Lafreniere said that information is helpful because Magnotta has boasted in the past that he's adept at disguise.
The fact his different appearances are posted in online photo galleries should make it easier to find him, he said.
Lafreniere described Magnotta as someone he believes needs to seek out attention, "so that's why there are so many pictures, so many videos."
"He's been using the Web to glorify himself, but I think it's the Web that's going to take him down," he said.
Police are also following up on links between the suspect and other people in Canada.
"We've been very close to catching him. I feel very comfortable, very hopeful that very soon we're going to catch him," Lafreniere said.
