NRW
Missing three-year-old found – suspect arrested
Police have arrested a man in connection with the disappearance of a girl. photo
© Henning Kaiser/dpa
Emergency services in Cologne have been searching for a missing three-year-old for more than twelve hours. In the morning the news: The child is back. But the location is a mystery to the investigators.
After the discovery of a missing three-year-old in a Cologne apartment Police temporarily arrested a 70-year-old. The man should be questioned and his apartment will be examined for forensic purposes, the police said.
More than twelve hours after her disappearance, police officers located the missing three-year-old in an apartment. The girl was apparently uninjured, police said. How the child got into the apartment initially remained unclear.
The police are now interviewing witnesses and examining the apartment, which is near the park. “The investigation must show whether crimes occurred to the detriment of the girl.” The child is cared for by relatives and questioned by emergency services in the presence of the parents.
Lost sight of child in the park
According to police information, the girl was visiting relatives in Cologne with her parents from Kassel and was out with her aunt in the Bürgerpark in the Kalk district on Friday evening. There the woman lost sight of her niece on her pink balance bike around 8 p.m. It was said that the park was “very well filled” at the time.
The police then searched for the three-year-old with a large number. Sniffer dogs and a helicopter were also used, said the spokesman. As part of the search operation, residents were also rung to question them and get information. The child was finally found in an apartment.