Malnourished boy found locked in utility van since 2024, police say

A 9-year-old boy was rescued this week after living locked in his father’s utility van in eastern France since 2024, according to the local prosecutor. The child has been hospitalized, and his father was detained.

Police were alerted by a neighbor to “sounds of a child” coming from a van on Monday in the village of Hagenbach near the borders of Switzerland and Germany, according to a statement from Prosecutor Nicolas Heitz provided Saturday.

After forcing the van open, they found a child “lying in a fetal position, naked, covered by a blanket on top of a mound of trash and near excrement,” the statement said. The child was malnourished and could no longer walk, because he had been in a seated position for so long, the statement said.

The boy’s father, 43, told investigators he put the child in the truck in November 2024 “to protect him,” because his partner, 37, wanted to send the boy to a psychiatric hospital, the prosecutor said. The boy was 7 at the time.

The prosecutor said there was no medical record indicating the boy had any psychiatric problems before he disappeared, and the boy had good grades in school.

The boy told investigators he had “big difficulties” with his father’s partner, and thought his father “had no choice” but to lock him up, according to the prosecutor. He said he hadn’t showered since 2024.

The boy told police his dad brought him food twice a day and left him water, CBS News partner BBC News reported, citing Le Parisien newspaper.

He said he had to urinate in plastic bottles and defecate in bin bags, the outlet added, and the last time he had a shower was late 2024.

The father was handed preliminary kidnapping and other charges and kept in custody. His partner denied knowledge that the boy was in the van, according to the prosecutor. She was handed preliminary charges, including failure to help a minor in danger, and released under judicial supervision.

The boy’s 12-year-old sister and the 10-year-old daughter of his father’s partner were put in the care of social services.

The prosecutor’s office is investigating whether others were aware of the locked-up boy. Friends and family told investigators they thought the boy was in a psychiatric institution. His teachers were told he had transferred to a different school, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Authorities did not release the names of the victim or family members.

Residents of the village reached by The Associated Press expressed shock Saturday at what happened and said they were unaware of the boy’s whereabouts, but didn’t want to discuss details.

Some neighbors told the BBC they occasionally heard noises from inside the van, but were told it was a cat.

The prosecutor declined to comment further to AP pending further investigation.

The boy’s 12-year-old sister and the 10-year-old daughter of his father’s partner were put in the care of social services.