Search notice on Belgian highways after kidnapping of baby Santiago: his life is in danger after parents took him from hospital

A missing person notice for the French baby Santiago can be seen along the Belgian highways. The premature baby, aged 17 days, was taken from the maternity ward of the Robert Ballanger Hospital in Aulnay-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis) in France on Monday evening between 11 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Santiago has blond hair and is dressed in a brown T-shirt in size 6 months and white thick velvet pajamas. He was born prematurely and therefore requires constant medical care, according to the investigation notice issued by the French police.

By Tuesday afternoon the baby had still not been found. The French court has therefore also requested the cooperation of the Belgian authorities in finding the newborn baby.

The Bobigny public prosecutor’s office announced on Tuesday afternoon that Santiago’s parents “could have come to Belgium with the child last night”. Child Focus also distributed an investigative message on Tuesday evening about the disturbing disappearance. The website childalert.be contains photos of the parents and the car. Child Focus calls on witnesses to report via the free emergency number 116 000.

Main suspects

The main suspects are the child’s parents. The victims are a 23-year-old man, wearing dark jeans, a white T-shirt, a light blue denim jacket and a black overcoat, and a 25-year-old woman, who was wearing a white sweater, a light blue sleeveless jacket and a green skirt. at the time of the child’s disappearance. They travel with a dark blue AUDI A4 with French license plate GR-956-ZV.

It is not clear why they would have taken their child with them. According to French media, the parents may be known to the police. The police are not commenting for the time being and are doing everything they can to quickly find the baby alive. Several people from the parents’ entourage have also been arrested for questioning.

Nightfles

A nurse from the neonatology department spoke to the parents when they left the hospital. She asked them if they would return to give their baby a night bottle. They replied in the affirmative.

Footage captured by surveillance cameras shows them leaving with a bag in hand. Moments later, staff noticed the baby was missing and raised the alarm.

On Tuesday, the French judiciary decided to issue a kidnapping warning. This only happens in very exceptional circumstances. To be activated, several criteria must be met. For example, there must be a proven kidnapping and not a simple disappearance, the victim must be a minor, his physical integrity or his life must be in danger.

The “kidnapping alert system”, introduced in France in February 2006, provides for the launching of a large-scale alert in the event of the abduction of a minor child. So far it has been activated about thirty times in France. In 28 cases this made it possible to find the missing minor alive.

The previous activation dates from July 12, when young Célya, 6 years old, disappeared in Saint-Martin-de-l’If (Seine-Maritime). The little girl’s body was found lifeless a few hours later.

Following a decision by the Bobigny public prosecutor’s office, the kidnapping alert was lifted again on Tuesday evening. The child has not been found, so the search continues.