Boom, Friday afternoon 5 p.m. A seven-year-old boy is expected at home, but he does not show up and he is nowhere to be found. His family is very concerned and informs the police, because the child has difficulty communicating. The Rupel police zone immediately pulls out all the stops.
“From the first moment, the disappearance was a worrying disappearance for us. Our people immediately started a major search, because the first hours are golden hours,” said Joris Van Camp, spokesman for the Rupel police to Nieuwsblad. The corps received the support of a helicopter and sniffer dogs from the federal police.
football shirt
The police sent out a national description and Child Focus distributed a search message. The organization called on the public to look out for a boy with a normal build, short black hair and dark eyes. The child also wore a yellow football shirt of the Belgian football team.
“That was flashy and luckily it was noticeable, because it was already dark,” says Eveline Andries from Berchem (Antwerp). She and her boyfriend Erik Courboin visited his cousin Dwayne in Koningshooikt (Lier) on Friday evening.
“When we wanted to drive away, we suddenly noticed the boy when we turned onto the road. He came to the window of our car. My friend asked what was wrong. We thought it was suspicious that he was alone and was only wearing a football shirt and shorts,” says Eveline.
Emergency number
It was already 11 pm and the Aarschotsesteenweg is a busy traffic axis. “The boy was difficult to understand. All he could say was mommy,” Eveline explains. Her friend Erik decided to call the emergency number. Based on the detailed description, the operator immediately knew what time it was. “The person told us that the child was wanted. We had not yet seen the search message ourselves,” says Eveline.
Kirsten Butorac, Dwayne’s girlfriend, had meanwhile provided a warm coat and given the child something to drink. Less than ten minutes later, patrols of the Lier police arrived on the scene. The inspectors continued to take care of the boy. “He was given a coat by one of the officers. They put his bicycle in their combi”, says Eveline.
The police officers of Lier had also informed their colleagues from the Rupel zone. “They came to pick up the boy from our police station,” said Magalie Derboven, spokeswoman for the Lier police. Thanks to the good care of the two couples, the missing boy was able to return home safely. “We are relieved that nothing happened to him.”