French Father Locks 9-Year-Old Son in Van for Nearly Two Years

A 9-year-old boy was rescued after being locked in his father's utility van since November 2024.

Police were alerted by a neighbor to sounds of a child coming from the van.

Associated Press

Officers found the child lying in a fetal position, naked, covered by a blanket on top of a mound of trash and near excrement.

The boy was malnourished and could no longer walk.

The father told investigators he put the child in the truck to protect him because his partner wanted to send the boy to a psychiatric hospital.

The prosecutor said there was no medical record indicating the boy had any psychiatric problems before he disappeared.

The father was charged with preliminary kidnapping and other offenses and kept in custody.

Residents of Hagenbach expressed shock at the discovery.

Friends and family thought the boy was in a psychiatric institution.

Balkanweb

His teachers were told he had transferred to a different school.

The prosecutor's office is investigating whether others were aware of the boy's confinement.

The boy told police he had to urinate in plastic bottles and defecate in bin bags.

The man has been charged with sequestration and arbitrary detention of a minor.

His partner has been charged with non-assistance to a minor in danger.