© Cologne Police
German police rescued a 3-year-old girl from the apartment of a 70-year-old man in Cologne on Saturday morning. The child disappeared on Friday during an outing with two aunts in a city park.
Helin (3) disappeared without a trace on Friday evening around 8 p.m. during a picnic with two aunts in the Bürgerpark, in the northeast of Cologne. The police then conducted a large-scale search for the girl of Syrian origin.
That search led officers to the nearby apartment of a 70-year-old man around 9:30 Saturday morning. Completely by chance they noticed the girl there. The man was arrested.
“We are investigating how the girl ended up in the apartment and how long she stayed there,” said a police spokesperson. “It is also being investigated whether there are any criminal offenses and witnesses are currently being questioned about this.” The girl appears to be “unharmed,” according to police.