Supermodel Katoucha Missing in Paris

Police divers in Paris are searching for the African supermodel known as Katoucha. She disappeared more than a week ago after returning to her houseboat after a party. Though there was initial talk of a possible suicide, it is now suspected that she lost her footing and slipped into the Seine. “That night, it was raining, it was windy and the currents were strong,” said an officer.

Katoucha, 47, gained international fame in the '80s as a YSL muse and one of the first ethnic models with "super" status. Born in Guinea, Katoucha suffered genital mutilation as a child. She wrote in her autobiography that it was "an unimaginable horror" she sought to overcome through modeling. 1n 1994, she launched an organization (Katoucha for the Fight Against Excision) to fight the practice. [Times Online]