crime
Missing ten-year-old: Suspect in custody
The suspect is from Baden-Württemberg. Photo
© Lino Mirgeler/dpa
In the case of a schoolgirl from East Westphalia who was missing for hours, the authorities have released further details about the suspect. Where he comes from is now clear – what happened remains unclear.
Two days after the disappearance of a ten-year-old girl from Brakel in In East Westphalia, the authorities have released further details about the suspect. The man is a 66-year-old from Baden-Württemberg, the police in Bielefeld and the public prosecutor’s office in Paderborn announced jointly.
The man has been in custody since Friday. Out of consideration for the personal rights of the child’s family, the authorities are refraining from providing any further information, including on the criminal charges. According to the statement, tips from prudent witnesses led to local and cross-border searches and investigations. The 66-year-old was arrested in Rhineland-Palatinate on Thursday night.
Didn’t come home after school
The child was missing for several hours after he did not return home from school on Wednesday. According to earlier information from the police in the Höxter district (North Rhine-Westphalia), he was found alive in the evening in Fritzlar in Hesse, around 80 kilometers away.
The police and fire department had started a search operation on Wednesday, in which a sniffer dog was also deployed. The police had published a photo of the missing girl on the NRW police wanted portal. On Friday, the authorities again appealed to the family not to distribute the photo published during the search and to delete it.