The body found in the Dutch municipality of Geleen is indeed that of 9-year-old missing Gino van der Straeten. This was confirmed by the Limburg Police Unit. The boy’s family is very shocked by the discovery of the body.
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“It was a terrible moment for them,” says Judy op de Veld of the organization On behalf of the Family, who assists the relatives. she tells to The Telegraph that the family itself in the morning (Saturday, ed.) has had to establish that the body found in the Opbraakstraat in Geleen belonged to Gino. It is not known whether it meant that relatives saw the body or that his identity was confirmed in some other way through the family.
“They are struck,” says Op het Veld, who has been in contact with the boy’s two sisters and the partner of one of them. “They’ve been on a terrible rollercoaster, it was indescribable. They have gone through a very intense and sad process. The family had hope until the time when the body had to be identified. They are together now. Horrible. The grief is immense. You cannot imagine that.”