Tragic accident caused deaths of young girl, caregiver; Not a criminal case, police say

The bodies found in a black Kia Picanto along the A59 on Wednesday evening are 10-year-old Hebe Zwart and 26-year-old Sanne Bos, the police confirmed on Thursday. The police currently believe they died in a tragic accident. “We have no indications that this was a crime,” a police spokesperson told Omroep Brabant.

Hebe and Sanne disappeared on Monday afternoon after the caregiver picked the girl up from a specialized daycare facility in Raamdonksveer to drive her the 40 kilometers home to Vught. They never arrived. The police issued an Amber Alert for Hebe on Tuesday morning.

They found Sanne’s car in the water at the bottom of a slope between the A2 and A59, near Den Bosch, at around 10:00 p.m. Wednesday after a police officer noticed tire tracks on the Empel junction. The police closed off the area, recovered the bodies, and moved the car for further investigation elsewhere.

Hebe and Sanne’s families released a statement on Wednesday saying they had been living “between hope and despair” since Monday. “This is a terrible ending to a huge drama. Our grief is intense and massive,” they said in a statement released through the organization Namens de Familie.

The relatives thanked “everyone who sympathized and contributed to finding Hebe and Sanne.” "Over the past few days, the police have worked with all their might to search for Hebe and Sanne. Many volunteers have also set out who searched or helped in some other way. For us, in these difficult times, this is an enormous support."

The families asked for peace to process their grief.