New Search in Lanaken Forest for Body of 2017 Murder Victim
A large-scale multi-day search operation began Wednesday in a forest along the Bessemerstraat in Lanaken, Limburg province, as Belgian authorities seek the remains of Ronald “Ronny” Vandereycken, a 53-year-old Genk resident who was murdered in June 2017. The convicted perpetrator, Marc Castermans, was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2021 in a rare conviction for murder without a body, but the victim’s remains have never been found.
The Search Operation
The coordinated search is being led by the Parket Limburg (Limburg Public Prosecutor’s Office) and involves multiple specialized units, including the Cel Vermiste Personen (Missing Persons Unit), the Federale Gerechtelijke Politie (Federal Judicial Police), the Hondensteun (Canine Support Unit), the DVI-team (Disaster Victim Identification), and the Civiele Bescherming van Brasschaat (Civil Protection). According to VRT NWS, the operation is focused on a delimited forest area where new, undisclosed investigative developments have directed authorities.
Marijke Teunis, spokesperson for Parket Limburg, confirmed that new elements had emerged in the investigation. “New elements have emerged in the investigation that have led to this forest area in Lanaken,” Teunis said. She emphasized the human dimension of the search, stating, “We primarily want to give the family the opportunity to say a dignified farewell.”
Judicial sources cited by Het Laatste Nieuws described the operation as a potential “last chance” to recover remains, noting that recent groundworks and wildlife activity in the forest area may have compromised any remaining evidence. “If we don’t find him now, we’ll never find him,” a source told the newspaper.
The Crime and Conviction
Ronald Vandereycken was last seen alive on Saturday, June 3, 2017, picking up methadone at a pharmacy in Genk. He had a history of drug addiction and lived on the margins of society. The following day, June 4, 2017, Marc Castermans struck Vandereycken in the head with a stone in the Louis Paul Boonstraat in Gellik (Lanaken), causing fatal skull trauma. Castermans then disposed of the body at an unknown location.
Vandereycken’s Peugeot 207 was recovered from the Albert Canal near Gellik on July 27, 2017, but the body was not inside. His phone’s last signal pinged near the Sint-Barbaraziekenhuis in Lanaken before falling silent.
In December 2021, Castermans was found guilty of murder by the Hof van Assisen in Tongeren and sentenced to life imprisonment, plus 15 years of supervision by the strafuitvoeringsrechtbank. The conviction was notable because it was secured without a body, relying instead on circumstantial evidence, including Castermans’ attempt to trade Vandereycken’s car for a motorcycle, the submerged vehicle, and phone location data.
A Serial Killer Without Bodies
Marc Castermans, a 53-year-old former bouncer from Bilzen with 14 prior convictions, has earned the moniker “seriemoordenaar zonder lijken” (serial killer without bodies) in Belgian media. He has been linked to two other unsolved disappearances: Jacques Gérin, who vanished from Lanaken in 2002, and Jean Leclaire, a Dutch XTC dealer from Maastricht who disappeared in 2003. In both cases, Castermans was investigated but ultimately acquitted due to the absence of bodies.
During the 2021 trial, prosecutor Ken Witpas painted a chilling portrait of the defendant, describing him as narcissistic, violent, and lacking empathy. “Violence is simply his means of communicating with people,” Witpas said, as reported by HLN. Witpas warned that Castermans “has a personality against which we as a society must protect ourselves, because otherwise more people will disappear in the Bermuda Triangle of Limburg.”
Rumors have persisted that Castermans used an industrial shredder to dispose of remains, though this has never been confirmed. Castermans continues to deny involvement, telling the court, “I am not a murderer.”
What’s Next
The current search operation is expected to last several days. If remains are found, it could provide long-awaited closure for Vandereycken’s family and potentially lead to adjustments in Castermans’ sentence or further investigations into the other disappearance cases. The nature of the new information that led authorities to this specific location remains confidential in the interest of the investigation.
For the family of Ronald Vandereycken, after nine years of uncertainty, this search represents their best hope for answers and the chance to finally lay their loved one to rest.