PARIS, Feb 6, 2008 (AFP) - French authorities have opened an investigation into the disappearance of former model Katoucha, who has been missing since the weekend, a source close to the inquiry said Wednesday, February 6th.

Katoucha Niane in 1992 - Photo : Pierre Guillaud/AFP

The Guinean model, 47, disappeared from her home between late Friday and early Saturday, the source said. Relatives reported her disappearance to police on Monday.

She had been living on a houseboat in the River Seine in Paris near the picturesque Alexandre III bridge. A friend had accompanied her back there on Friday night.

Her handbag was recovered at the entrance to the boat, according to the source. Investigators "are not excluding any hypothesis, such as an accident or suicide in the Seine, for example," the source said.

Divers searched for her body on Wednesday, a judicial source said.

At the start of her career, Katoucha posed for some of the world's greatest designers. She recently published a book, "In My Flesh", where she recounts her circumcision in Guinea when she was nine years old.