Human
02-16-2006, 06:37 PM
I found it interesting, hehe. I find it extremely sad about this girl. hey, at least they caught the guy.
Police Find Girl Who Wrote 'Help' Note
By MELISSA EDDY
BERLIN (AP) - German police said Thursday they rescued a 13-year-old girl and arrested an ex-convict accused of abducting and holding her captive for five weeks after they followed up a note the child managed to drop.
The girl vanished Jan. 11 on her way to school in Dresden in eastern Germany, and despite widespread search efforts police said they had no concrete clues until a man came to them Wednesday with a white scrap of paper with ``HELP, HELP'' scrawled on it in bright red letters.
``We are very thankful to the person who found this note and took it seriously and immediately alerted us,'' investigator Sonja Kruessel told reporters at a news conference.
The girl was reunited with her family and taken to an undisclosed location where she was also receiving psychological support, Kruessel said. Police said she had been sexually abused during her ordeal.
Police said the girl dropped several notes when she was taken out of the apartment by her abductor as he walked his dogs. They said she was too afraid to call for help or escape.
The 35-year-old suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was a previous offender, Christian Avenarius, a spokesman for city prosecutors, said.
Prosecutors have charged him with sexually assaulting a minor and kidnapping, Avenarius said. He was brought before a judge Thursday, but declined to make a statement.
The girl's handwritten note was found by a man, whom police did not identify, near trash containers in the neighborhood. In it, the girl begged the finder to alert the police and included the address where she was being held - only about a half-mile from her home.
The note included the name and address of the kidnapper and said ``this is no joke'' and ``it's a matter of life and death,'' said Avenarius.
``From what we can tell so far, he kept her in a crate for a while with a gag in her mouth, which he then bound shut,'' Avenarius said.
According to Avenarius, the man served more than three years in prison after being found guilty of abusing a minor in 1999, but had recently changed addresses so that police were not aware that he lived so close to the girl and her school.
Police Find Girl Who Wrote 'Help' Note
By MELISSA EDDY
BERLIN (AP) - German police said Thursday they rescued a 13-year-old girl and arrested an ex-convict accused of abducting and holding her captive for five weeks after they followed up a note the child managed to drop.
The girl vanished Jan. 11 on her way to school in Dresden in eastern Germany, and despite widespread search efforts police said they had no concrete clues until a man came to them Wednesday with a white scrap of paper with ``HELP, HELP'' scrawled on it in bright red letters.
``We are very thankful to the person who found this note and took it seriously and immediately alerted us,'' investigator Sonja Kruessel told reporters at a news conference.
The girl was reunited with her family and taken to an undisclosed location where she was also receiving psychological support, Kruessel said. Police said she had been sexually abused during her ordeal.
Police said the girl dropped several notes when she was taken out of the apartment by her abductor as he walked his dogs. They said she was too afraid to call for help or escape.
The 35-year-old suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was a previous offender, Christian Avenarius, a spokesman for city prosecutors, said.
Prosecutors have charged him with sexually assaulting a minor and kidnapping, Avenarius said. He was brought before a judge Thursday, but declined to make a statement.
The girl's handwritten note was found by a man, whom police did not identify, near trash containers in the neighborhood. In it, the girl begged the finder to alert the police and included the address where she was being held - only about a half-mile from her home.
The note included the name and address of the kidnapper and said ``this is no joke'' and ``it's a matter of life and death,'' said Avenarius.
``From what we can tell so far, he kept her in a crate for a while with a gag in her mouth, which he then bound shut,'' Avenarius said.
According to Avenarius, the man served more than three years in prison after being found guilty of abusing a minor in 1999, but had recently changed addresses so that police were not aware that he lived so close to the girl and her school.