Canada considers 'all options' over citizen missing in W. Africa

The Canadian government is leaving no stone unturned as it tries to determine what happened to a Canadian woman and her Italian partner reported missing in West Africa.

Edith Blais, 34, and her companion Luca Tacchetto, 30, were last seen on December 15 travelling by car in Burkina Faso, between the town of Bobo-Dioulasso and the capital Ouagadougou.

Kidnappings have increased in the impoverished Sahel state, which has been battling a rising wave of jihadist attacks over the last three years.

Late Wednesday, a Canadian geologist kidnapped at a remote gold mine in northeast Burkina Faso by suspected jihadists was found dead.

Blais and Tacchetto were working on a reforestation project with aid group Zion'Gaia.

Investigators on the ground have found no clues in their disappearance, but a senior Canadian official told AFP on condition of anonymity that they may have fallen victim to a kidnapping or robbery gone awry.

"All options are being explored," Canadian International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau told reporters after meeting Friday with Blais' family in Quebec province.

"We are doing everything we can," she said.

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