Authorities in France have launched a manhunt after a 14-day-old premature baby boy named Santiago was taken from a maternity ward in a Paris hospital where he was receiving necessary life-sustaining treatment. The suspects in Santiago’s disappearance are his parents.
The Seine-Saint-Denis judicial police described the father as a “23-year-old man, dressed in dark jeans, a white T-shirt, a light blue denim jacket and a black overcoat.” They described the mother as a “25-year-old woman, dressed in a white sweater, a light blue sleeveless jacket and a green skirt.” They both have a criminal history (the father has been convicted for gang violence and the mother for drug use), and three other persons were said to be with them.
The car they were traveling in was located Wednesday morning in Charleroi, Belgium, an area in which police suspected the parents would travel.
Santiago’s parents and suspects in his kidnapping. AFP PHOTO / MINISTERE DE L’INTERIEUR
The baby boy requires constant medical care and is expected to only be able to survive 12 hours without medical care.
“This child is disconnected and his survival is from a few hours to a few days,” said Dr. Maïa Banige, a neonatologist, “but in any case there are already neurological after-effects because this child is lacking oxygen, he does not have his ventilation.”
An alert sent by police and later lifted, despite Santiago not being located, stated he was taken late Monday night between 11 and 11:30 pm. It was at that time that a nurse stopped Santiago’s parents as they left the neonatology ward with just a “small bag.” They said they would return to the ward by midnight.
“Without a baby in their arms or in a stroller, the couple was only equipped with a simple bag, which did not attract the attention of the hospital staff who were used to seeing parents carrying clothes for their newborn,” a hospital employee said.
TFI Info reported that police searched the parents’ address as well as the addresses of family members, and arrested five people, ages 16 to 29, early Tuesday. Those individuals were referred to as “members of the baby’s parents’ entourage.” They are reportedly being questioned as part of an investigation opened for “organised gang kidnapping.”
