South Africa's ambassador to France found dead in Paris after missing

South Africa's ambassador to France, Nkosinathi Emmanuel "Nathi" Mthethwa, has been found dead in Paris a day after he was reported missing, French authorities said. The 58 year old diplomat's body was discovered outside the Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile in the Porte Maillot district on Tuesday, after having been reported missing on Monday evening, prosecutors said.

His disappearance was reported by his wife, who, according to the Paris prosecutors office, told investigators she had received a "worrying message from him in the evening." Authorities said his phone was last traced near the Bois de Boulogne in western Paris at about 3 pm on Monday, prompting a search of the park and surrounding woods by police and a canine unit. Police later located his body near the hotel. Local authorities said he had booked a room on the 22nd floor and that the room's secure window had been forced open; the precise circumstances of his fall are being examined.

The Paris prosecutors office opened an investigation and sent a duty magistrate to the scene. Officials described the inquiry as urgent and said they were treating the incident with the procedures used when death circumstances are unclear....