The search continues for the missing newborn baby Santiago. The parents abducted their child from a hospital in the Paris region, where he was receiving vital care. A public alert issued by the federal police is still in force.
Police are continuing their search for Santiago, who was abducted by his parents from a French hospital at around 23:00 on Monday. Surveillance camera footage showed the father and mother (aged 23 and 25) – both "known to the police and the courts" for drug use and violent theft – leaving the hospital with a bag in which the baby was believed to be hidden.
The search is a race against the clock, as Santiago was being kept in an incubator in a hospital because he was born two months early. His life is in grave danger: the French police warned that the baby's life expectancy without medical care was estimated at around 12 hours.
What we know so far
A missing child notice was rapidly circulated in France. The parents were believed to have made their way to Belgium, and soon, missing child notices were circulated on the information boards above Belgian motorways, including details about the registration plate of the Audi in which the parents fled.
These messages were removed on Wednesday afternoon after the car in question was found by police at around 09:00 in Gilly, a district in Charleroi. Neither the baby nor the parents were found at the scene, the Bobigny public prosecutor said. A mobile phone was found in the car, but it reportedly does not belong to the parents.
The parents and an elderly woman were filmed by the surveillance cameras of a B&B in Mons on Tuesday, BFM TV in France reported. Baby nappies were found there.
French and Belgian investigators said during a press conference on Thursday that they are "particularly concerned and extremely worried about Santiago's health and even survival," Belga News Agency reported.
"Priority number one [...] is and remains finding Santiago to verify that he is doing well," Bobigny's public prosecutor Eric Mathais, said. "Santiago's parents have still not been found in Belgium and we have no precise information about Santiago's whereabouts," he added.
The investigators called on the parents to take the baby to the nearest hospital immediately. Mathais added that hope is "never lost" and that it is possible that "Santiago will be found alive."
Detectives in France have arrested five people, aged between 16 and 29, in Livry-Gargan in northeast Paris. They are all believed to be close friends of the parents, Le Monde reported. They remain in custody. Meanwhile, the mother's family spoke to the French news channel TF1, stating they are very worried and are trying to reach her at all costs.
What punishment do the parents face?
An investigation into the "kidnapping of a minor under 15 by an organised gang" is already underway in France, and for this, the perpetrators risk life imprisonment. This punishment can be eased if the child is released within seven days.
Referring to this case as a 'kidnapping' may seem strange, as the baby was removed from the hospital by his parents. But French newspaper Le Figaro claims that the parents no longer had custody of the child, which could also explain why he was abducted.
In any case, for underage people, it is up to the parents or guardians to determine how a child is treated. They can decide to stop medical treatment and whether or not their child should remain in the hospital, professor of medical law, Herman Nys (KU Leuven) told VRT NWS.
However, patient law states that a doctor can deviate from the parents' judgment if they feel it is not in the child's best interest, for example, if the child's life is endangered by the decision.
If the parents' decision to remove Santiago from the hospital results in him suffering serious health problems, the charge may change. They could be prosecuted for failing to provide care and for causing intentional harm, and they could face five years in prison. If he dies, they could even be tried for "infanticide" or the intentional killing of a child, and could be sent to prison for up to 30 years.
