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23 March 2004
AMSTERDAM — The seven-year-old girl briefly “abducted” from a primary school in Drachten on Monday, was allegedly taken by her father before police rescued her about an hour later.
Police said the kidnapping occurred at about 10am at the De Kameleon primary school as a 52-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man, both of them from Schonebeek, escaped with the girl in a delivery van.
The acting school director claimed the father of the girl took his resisting child out of the classroom, prompting the director to immediately alert police, news agency ANP reported.
The two suspects were arrested within an hour after leaving the school as six police cars set out in pursuit of their escape vehicle. Police detained the suspects on the N381 Drachten-Emmen highway near Zweelo.
They were taken to the Emmen police station and were transferred on Monday to Drachten for questioning. The girl — initially described as an eight-year-old — was unharmed.
The 27-year-old mother of the girl has reportedly been in hiding — with both her daughters — from the children’s father for some time, public news service NOS reported. She has recently moved house four times.
A 31-old-brother of the father was also arrested on allegations he hindered the police pursuit. A police spokeswoman said the two brothers were not twins.
The spokeswoman also told Expatica that the three suspects were being questioned about the incident to determine if the girl was actually abducted or left voluntarily.
[Copyright Expatica News 2004]
Subject: Dutch news