The public prosecutor of Nancy, François Pérain. (archives) – JEFF PACHOUD / AFP
Five days after her kidnapping in the Vosges, little Mia, 8, was found with her mother this Sunday morning in Switzerland. At a press conference shortly after the discovery was announced, Nancy’s prosecutor, François Perain, gave some details. 20 minutes takes stock of what we know.
How were Mia and her mother found?
Mia and her mother, Lola M., were found around 10:45 am this Sunday morning, François Perain said. They were located in a Swiss town bordering France, in Holy Cross, in a squat, an abandoned factory “taken over by different people”. Lola M. does not appear to have resisted his arrest. She is currently in police custody in Switzerland. The public prosecutor of Nancy insisted on good cooperation with the Swiss authorities, “since the beginning of the case”.
How’s little Mia?
Nancy’s prosecutor has assured that Mia is in good health. She is currently still at Sainte-Croix. The judicial protection of young people was mandated to recover it. It is this service that must take Mia back to her maternal grandmother, without going through a foster family.
What do we know about the run?
Lola M. would have spent with Mia, still according to the prosecutor, a first night in a hotel in the Swiss canton of Friborg, then a second night with a woman in Neuchâtel. It is this woman who would have deposited her in the squat where she was found this Sunday at 10:45 am. Lola M. would have traveled by taxi, but also thanks to the help of accomplices who helped her in this escape. The public prosecutor of Nancy therefore suggested that other arrests could take place, another having already taken place in Switzerland. The total number of people arrested in this case is therefore seven for the moment, including Mia’s mother.
François Perain announced that he would give a second press conference at 3 p.m., during which he should give details of Mia’s mother’s run and the consequences of the affair.