Missing 13-year-old from Valkenswaard found safe after five months

A 13-year-old boy from Eindhoven has been found after he had gone missing on January 14. He spoke to a witness on Monday evening, which then led to the person notifying the police. The boy seems to be in good health, but the police do not yet know where he has been for the last few months.

Last Thursday, the police arrested a 50-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman from the boy’s “close circle” in connection with his disappearance. The two are suspected of unlawfully removing the teenager from the “custody of his legal guardians.” Both suspects are currently still under arrest. The examining magistrate will decide on Tuesday whether that will remain the case.

The police are looking for more information about who the boy has been in contact with during these months and “who may have helped him stay under the radar.” Anyone with more information, for example, about who saw him, helped him, or provided him with shelter, is "urgently" requested to share that knowledge.

Investigators didn’t fear for the boy’s life during his disappearance. The police have searched both homes of the man and woman who have been arrested and in other areas in the Netherlands and Belgium.