Authorities discover lost ten-year-old from North Rhine-Westphalia in Hesse region.
A little girl aged ten in Brakel, East Westphalia, vanished after school without returning home. The police eventually found her safe in Fritzlar, Hesse. They've now taken a suspect into custody.
Initially, the district's police in Höxter, North Rhine-Westphalia, reported that the girl was found in excellent health after being missing for several hours. However, authorities from Bielefeld and the Paderborn public prosecutor's office later provided more details. The girl was discovered over 80 kilometers away from her hometown.
The police have been reticent about the case, choosing to withhold specifics so as to not compromise the family's privacy. They remain tight-lipped about the individual behind bars, refusing to disclose their gender or age.
Reports suggest that a specific license plate number led to the arrest. A witness from Brakel supposedly recalled seeing this number, prompting an investigation that led the suspect to be apprehended. An interview with the ten-year-old girl backed up this suspicion. Law enforcement then tracked down the vehicle using the phone's location.
The suspect was arrested in Rhineland-Palatinate, not at the location where the girl was found. However, the specific spot was not disclosed. The authorities requested the public to refrain from engaging in wild speculation, respecting the privacy of the child and her family during these trying times.
Earlier this week, the police and fire department initiated a search operation, which included a sniffer dog. The authorities released a photo of the missing girl on the NRW police search portal and later urged for its removal to avoid fueling rumors.
EDIT
A witness recounts seeing a red van in connection with the disappearance, leading investigators to a suspect. The girl's testimony along with the vehicle's location information helped close the case. The male suspect was apprehended far from where the girl was found, in Rhineland-Palatinate. To protect the child and her family's privacy, the police and the public prosecutor's office implore the public not to theorize about the crime. The authorities issued a deletion request for the previously published photo of the girl on the NRW police search portal.
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The international police force was involved in the investigation due to the inter-regional nature of the case. The missing child was found safe in a different federal state, specifically in Hesse, which is outside North Rhine-Westphalia.
Source: www.ntv.de
