VRT News has learned from a reliable source that the car of the parents of a premature baby that was taken from the maternity ward of a hospital near Paris has been found near Charleroi (Hainaut). Baby Santiago is in urgent need of medical care and national appeals to trace him have been launched in both France and Belgium. French police suspected that his parent had taken him across the border to Belgium and these suspicions have now been confirmed.
The appeal for information on baby Santiago’s whereabouts has received much media attention and has been widely circulated on social media platforms. The appeal has also appeared on digital information boards alongside motorways and trunk roads.
The parents of 17-day-old Santiago, who was born prematurely, are suspected of having abducted him from the maternity ward of a hospital in Aulnay-sous-Bois, near Paris. Santiago is in urgent need of medical care. Although his parents’ car has been found, Santiago and his parents are still missing.
5 people arrested
CCTV footage from the hospital where Santiago was abducted show his parents carrying a bag in which he was probably concealed. The reported left the hospital with 3 other people in their car.
French detectives have arrest 5 people aged between 16 and 29 Livry-Gargan, not far from Aulnay-sous-Bois. The French daily ‘Le Monde’ writes that they are “good friends of the baby’s parents”.
It is unclear why the couple took their baby from the hospital.