Kidnapping suspect remanded in custody

15 June 2006

BRUSSELS — The man suspected of kidnapping Liège stepsisters Stacy and Nathalie was remanded in custody shortly before 9pm on Wednesday.

The 38-year-old Abdallah Ait Oud denies any involvement in the disappearance of the girls, but has been charged with kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment. He has been transferred to the Lantin jail.

Meanwhile, a search was conducted again in Liège for the missing girls on Wednesday. Police combed the vicinity where the girls went missing with tracker dogs and divers searched the nearby Maas River.

The search along the river was called off at about 5pm. Nine submerged vehicles were found with a sonar device, seven of which were lifted out of the water but had been in the river for some time. Two other vehicles will be lifted out on Thursday.

Deserted houses were searched in the Wallonian city in a perimeter fanning out from the central point; a street corner bar called Les Armuriers near where the girls were last seen.

The parents of Stacy and Nathalie were drinking at the bar on the night the girls disappeared. The suspect was also seen at the bar and was not sighted for three days afterwards.

Ait Oud reported to police on Tuesday night after seeing his photo on the television news. The convicted child sex offender has denied kidnapping the girls and has given a detail description of his activities since the girls vanished early on Saturday morning.

Police are checking his statement, but media reports have indicated the man has given conflicting statements to authorities about his actions over the weekend. New searches were carried out on Wednesday.

The mother of Nathalie and the father of Stacy were informed about the progress of investigations by the Liège public prosecutor and the investigating judge at the city court buildings on Wednesday.

Subject: Belgian news