Man wanted: attempted kidnapping in Middelkerke

On Wednesday, January 26, 2022, around 7 p.m., a 14-year-old girl was standing at the “Sint Laureins” tram stop in Westende-bad. As she was waiting, she noticed a white van. The driver parked the van in the parking lot of the ‘Calidris’ domain, got out and walked towards the girl.

He addressed her in Dutch with an English accent. He suggested that we take her home. When she refused to accept this offer, the suspect took her by the arm and pulled her along.

At that moment, five young people came from the adjacent dunes and offered help. They were able to free the girl from the man’s grasp. Three of these youths knocked on the man and drove him back to his car. The other two took care of the victim.
The girl then got on the tram and went home, where she told everything and the police were notified.

Description of the suspect :
The man is around 40 years old and has tawny skin. He was wearing black pants with the Nike brand logo at the height of the right trouser pocket, a black mouth mask and a black cap.

Description of the 5 youngsters :
The youths were dressed inconspicuously, but the victim still remembers that one of the youths wore a white cap and a black body warmer. They spoke Dutch.

Further investigation revealed a witness who also noticed a suspicious vehicle several times in the area on the evening of the facts.

The van caught the eye of the witness because it shone like a mirror.
The witness was able to have a robot photo of the driver made.
The man is 40 to 50 years old and probably 1m70 to 1m75 tall. He is plump and has a tawny complexion. He was clean-shaven, had short black hair and wore dark clothes.

It could be that these two things are completely unrelated, but the researchers don’t want to rule anything out. If there are people who think they recognize the driver or if the driver recognizes himself, they may contact the investigators.

Do you recognize the man in the robot photo, were you one of the 5 young people, or do you have more information about this case, please contact the investigators via [email protected].

You can also testify via the toll-free number 0800/30 300.
You can read the message on www.politie.be www.politie.be