Remains of two soldiers missing since 2022 and 2023 identified: mother and sons indicted for murder in Var, France
Bones found in Bouches-du-Rhône belong to Jacques Pakeso and Mike Gineste, who vanished after being hosted by a clan suspected of preying on overseas troops.
Identification of remains
In late May 2026, human bones were discovered in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of southern France. The Toulon public prosecutor opened a judicial murder investigation and, on 29 May, indicted a mother and her two sons. By 27 July, DNA analysis confirmed the remains were those of Jacques Pakeso, 25, and Mike Gineste, 35. Both were soldiers who had been missing after periods spent in the neighbouring Var department. The families, informed of the identification, had not heard from the men in years: Pakeso since May 2022 and Gineste since May 2023.
- Jacques Pakeso, naval recruit from New Caledonia, last contacts family after arriving at Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer.
- Mike Gineste, Foreign Legionnaire, disappears; family loses contact.
- Human bones discovered in Bouches-du-Rhône.
- A mother and her two sons indicted for murder; father and daughter also charged with human trafficking and sequestration.
- Toulon prosecutor confirms the remains are Pakeso and Gineste; witness appeal maintained.
A family's alleged pattern
The inquiry quickly focused on a family from Var who had hosted both men. The same three individuals (the mother and two sons) face murder charges, while the father and one of the daughters are also prosecuted for human trafficking in an organized gang and sequestration in an organized gang. Investigators suspect the clan, whose matriarch is originally from New Caledonia, had for years systematically targeted young soldiers from French overseas territories. The family allegedly offered them accommodation, then progressively seized their credit cards, identity documents and other means of payment, kept them captive and, in some cases, killed them.
The families of the two victims have been informed of the identification.
The two soldiers
Jacques Pakeso was born in 1997 in Nouméa, New Caledonia. He left the Pacific island to join the French navy and was training at the Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer naval base in Var. His last contact with relatives was in May 2022, shortly after his arrival. Mike Gineste, born in 1988 in Papeete, Tahiti, enlisted in the French Foreign Legion. Despite an excellent service record and having just renewed his contract, he was officially listed as a deserter in May 2023 after breaking off all communication with his unit and his family. Both men had been lodged by the same Var family before vanishing.
Wider investigation and appeal
The investigation soon uncovered that the family had taken in several other overseas soldiers between 2011 and 2023. Seven former guests told detectives a similar story: they were gradually stripped of their bank cards and identity papers, then subjected to violence and held against their will before eventually breaking free. The Toulon prosecutor is now seeking information on any additional disappearances of people from Pacific islands who stayed in the Var over the past decade. The judicial inquiry continues to establish the exact circumstances in which Pakeso and Gineste died.
