French investigators probing the unsolved 2012 murder of a British family near Lake Annecy have found a Luger pistol in the lake, raising hopes of a breakthrough in the 14-year-old cold case. Saad al-Hilli, his wife, his mother-in-law and a passing cyclist were all shot dead near their campsite, and the killer's weapon was identified from pistol fragments as a Luger P06, a model once used by the Swiss army. The find matters because ballistic evidence has been one of the few solid leads in an investigation that has otherwise stalled despite exhaustive inquiries in France and the UK.

British tourists discovered the badly corroded weapon in two metres of water on 20 August, close to the campsite where the al-Hillis had been staying, and forensic experts are now examining it to confirm whether it matches the murder weapon. Around 60,000 P06 Lugers were made, against roughly three million Lugers overall, and the lake's proximity to Switzerland means many such pistols remain in local families' hands. Various theories, including a financial dispute, a random attacker, or the cyclist being the intended target, have been explored without resolution, while the al-Hillis' two young daughters survived the attack.