Parents warned about attempted abductions

22 October 2004

AMSTERDAM — Police in the south of the Netherlands have warned parents that a man has made two attempts to kidnap young boys in recent weeks.

The attempted abductions occurred in the south Limburg town Berg en Terblijt. The suspect struck first on 7 October when he pulled a boy, 8, from his bike and tried to carry him to a nearby car. The boy managed to break free and run home.

The man tried to abduct another boy, aged 7, from a play ground on 20 October. Again the boy got away.

Pupils of the local primary schools were given letters for their parents on Friday to warn them about the incidents and to explain the precautions being taken by the police and school authorities.

Anyone seeing anything suspicious in the area is asked to contact the police. The two boys have described the suspect as a white man in his 30s who spoke with a distinctive Maastricht accent.

This is the latest in a series of violent incidents directed against vulnerable victims in the area. The local claims the problems are in part caused by drug addicts who have been driven out of the city Heerlen by a police crackdown.

A man, 69, was murdered and his wife, 69, was seriously injured during a robbery at their home in Berg en Terblijt in August. Five months earlier a man abducted a boy, 9, from the nearby town Stibbe. They were found after a 12-hour search.

Subject: Dutch news