France Boy Trapped
A car drives past a road sign at the entrance of Hagenbach where a 9-year-old boy was rescued this week after living locked in his father's utility van since 2024, Eastern France, Saturday, April 11, 2026.
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A 9-year-old boy has been rescued from his father's utility van in eastern France, where he was locked up for a year and a half. The local prosecutor said the child was found malnourished and unable to walk. Police were alerted by a neighbor on Monday in the village of Hagenbach. The boy was discovered naked and covered by a blanket on a mound of trash. His father claimed he put the child in the van to protect him from being sent to a psychiatric hospital. Both the father and his partner are facing preliminary charges.
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