Dug with ruts left by gendarmerie vehicles, the small path at the end of Betteville (Seine-Maritime) sinks into a wood. “It’s there,” points out a neighbor in a whisper, his face tense. There the lifeless body of Célya, 6 years old, was found during the night from Friday to Saturday, a few hours after a kidnapping alert was triggered. The navy blue Golf of the suspect, her mother's companion for two years, was spotted by a couple of local residents.
For the 31st time since its creation in 2006, the “Kidnapping Alert” plan was triggered on Friday evening. The objective is to launch a massive alert in order to mobilize the population in the search for a child and his kidnapper. During the first three hours of the plan, the alert is relayed every fifteen minutes by around sixty “partners” including television channels, radio stations, websites, highway companies, SNCF, RATP and the National Institute for Victim Support and Mediation (INAVEM).
Around 9:30 p.m., a detailed description and photo of Célya was widely relayed in the media and on social networks to find the little girl who disappeared from her home in Saint Martin-de-l'If, in Seine-Maritime, shortly before 6:00 p.m. According to the alert, the little girl was likely to have been kidnapped by her mother's companion, a man aged 42, traveling in a navy blue Golf. It was a local resident, informed by the kidnapping alert, who made it possible to locate the kidnapper's vehicle.
Despite the extensive measures deployed, the tragic outcome for the child could not be prevented. Célya’s lifeless body was found with a major smash from the skull to the back of the head, which probably caused her death. The suspect was arrested a few hours later in the same woods and placed in police custody for attempted murder of a spouse, kidnapping, and murder of a minor under 15 years old.
Since its launch in February 2006, the “Kidnapping Alert” plan has saved the lives of 29 children among the 31 for whom it was triggered, according to the Ministry of Justice. Before Célya, another little girl, Vanille, had died after being kidnapped by her mother. The French plan is inspired by the American 'Amber alert' system and is only activated if several criteria are met, including a proven kidnapping and the victim being a minor whose life is in danger.
