Horror as boy, 11, found dead ‘with towel tied around his neck’

A murder investigation is underway and two teenagers have been arrested after an 11-year-old boy was found dead near a river “with a wet towel tied around his neck”. A fisherman alerted authorities at around 4.40pm on Sunday (May 24) after hearing the cries of a child near the Vilaine River in the city of Rennes, northwestern France.

The boy, who has not been named, was found lifeless on the bank of the river. Emergency services and firefighters rushed to the scene, but despite desperate efforts to save his life, the young boy was pronounced dead at the scene. Following the tragic discovery, French police have launched a murder investigation, and two arrests have been made. On Monday (May 25), a 16-year-old boy was detained in his home, while a 15-year-old girl was arrested after turning herself into a police station, Rennes prosecutor Frederic Teillet said.

“It is therefore the two young people who were seen with the victim at the scene on the afternoon of the incident who are currently in police custody” on charges of “murder of a minor,” Mr Teillet said in a statement, according to the Mirror.

The boy’s mother had been searching for him when the ordeal unfolded. He had told her he was going fishing in the area with a friend. According to authorities, the ordeal took place “in a wooded area at the foot of several apartment buildings, below the bridge that crosses over the Vilaine River”.

It remains unclear how the three children knew each other.

The organised and specialised crime division has taken charge of the ongoing investigation.