"Traces" found in search for missing Amber Alert kids
The police have found “trace evidence” in the Carel Coenraadpolder in Finsterwolde while searching for the missing siblings Jeffrey (10) and Emma (8). To “not harm the investigation,” the police could not elaborate on what they found. “We are conducting further investigations on site to determine or rule out whether the traces found are related to the investigation into the kidnapping of Jeffrey and Emma,” the Groningen police said on X.
The two children disappeared at around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. The police believe their father, Klaas Bijl (67), abducted them in a gray Toyota Avensis with the license plate 77-NLV-4.
According to the Telegraaf, the police visited Bijl’s home on Friday evening after the children’s mother called them about worrying messages her ex sent her. Bijl had picked Jeffry and Emma up from her home in Delfzijl earlier in the day and then started texting her. “He texted that something was going to happen, ‘but you’ll get over it,’” a friend of the mother told the Telegraaf. According to the friend, the police visited Bijl’s home, found that everything was quiet, and left the children with their father.
The police issued an Amber Alert for the two children, a measure only used when the authorities fear that the child’s life is in immediate danger. They also released photos of Klaas Bijl, urging the public to be on the lookout for him, Jeffrey, and Emma.
On Sunday evening, the police started searching the Carel Coenraadpolder in Finsterwolde, near the children’s hometown of Beerta, “following tips that emerged from the investigation.” On Monday morning, the police said they hadn’t found the children in the polder.
According to RTL Nieuws reporters at the scene, the police cordoned off a large area near the Carel Coenraadpolder. Rubertus, the missing siblings’ half-brother, told the broadcaster that his family is “living in hell.”
“I haven’t slept all night, haven’t eaten anything. We’re living in hell at the moment. It’s unbelievable, unreal,” Rubertus said. “We really ask everyone to keep a close eye out for him and the children. Even abroad. Please, pay close attention and watch. We are very concerned.”
A spokesperson for Namens de Familie, an agency that assists the families of crime or disaster, told the broadcaster that the entire family is a their wits’ end. “They still have hope, but it is very worrying.”
Jeffrey is about 1.5 meters tall. When he disappeared, he was wearing a yellow shirt, black shorts, and gray hiking boots. Emma is about 1.3 meters tall. It is unclear what she was wearing, but she likely had her purple running shoes on.
