Family Bonnie & Clyde: Turn yourselves in

Family members of the fugitive criminal twosome Antonio Marcos van der Ploeg (26) and Enise Merve Bircan (19) are urging them to turn themselves in "before more accidents happen." The parents of the Brazilian-adopted Antonio have taken up a secret location to live in for the time being, as per the advice of the police, the AD reports. "It is a drama", father Joeke says. "What our child has done can't be made right with words, but he is still our son. We can only hope that he gets caught quickly, to avoid new victims and not to land in even bigger difficulties." Also Enise's 49-year old uncle, Rafet Bircan, hopes that his brother's daughter will be apprehended quickly. "That is best for society, before more wounds are struck." The police is still in the manhunt for the gangster duo who have been engaged in several seriously violent assaults since 10 February. Yesterday, it seemed that they were almost caught over the German border in Gronau. Arresting forces mobilized, but it seemed to be a false alarm. Around midnight, the police expanded their search party in the eastern province of Groningen, first in Winschoten and then close to Hoogezand. On Monday, the pair kidnapped a father after an assault. Shortly before this, they attempted a robbery in a caravan park, and shot someone in his stomach. Even before that, they broke into homes in Meppel and the Lagie Mierde in Brabant, where the residents were severely abused. Strangely, the pair actually spent a night at the police station in December, before the assault spree, because they wanted to avoid a regulation police control.