The Latvian builder suspected in the disappearance of Alice Gross was in the Latvian army where he was taught survival skills.
As the police search continued here for 14-year-old Alice, UK officers arrived in Latvia as they stepped up the hunt for Arnis Zalkalns.
He was a volunteer in the Latvian equivalent of the Territorial Army between 1991 and 1993.
His regiment’s duties included guarding prisoners.
Radoslav Andric, who was Zalkalns’s landlord in Hanwell, West London, until July this year, said: “He was weird, a bit rough.
"I didn’t really like him.
“He seemed as if he had a military background – the kind of person who was fit for anything.
" He could find himself anywhere and survive.
“He was a very practical man who was extremely competent.”
Alice, from Hanwell, was last sighted on August 28 as she walked along a canal path near her home.
Latvian national Zalkalns, 41, who is a convicted murderer, was seen riding a bike on the same stretch 15 minutes later.
Forensic officers cut back undergrowth close to the canal during their fingertip search.
Police divers continued to scour a nearby river where they found a six-inch knife on Monday.
Police plan to stage a reconstruction on the route Alice last walked.
