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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/04/man-charged-with-kidnapping-over-missing-nine-year-old-girl-in-alps
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| Man charged with kidnapping over missing nine-year-old girl in Alps | Man charged with kidnapping over missing nine-year-old girl in Alps |
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| A man has been charged with kidnapping and placed in provisional detention in connection with the disappearance of a nine-year-old girl during a wedding in the French Alps. | A man has been charged with kidnapping and placed in provisional detention in connection with the disappearance of a nine-year-old girl during a wedding in the French Alps. |
| Maëlys de Araujo was last seen in the early hours of Sunday 27 August at a community hall where the wedding was held in Pont-de-Beauvoisin, a village 30 miles (50km) north of Grenoble. | Maëlys de Araujo was last seen in the early hours of Sunday 27 August at a community hall where the wedding was held in Pont-de-Beauvoisin, a village 30 miles (50km) north of Grenoble. |
| A 34-year-old man has been charged with “kidnapping, illegal confinement or arbitrary detention of a minor of less than 15 years” following the police investigation, Grenoble’s prosecutor said in a press release issued late on Sunday. | A 34-year-old man has been charged with “kidnapping, illegal confinement or arbitrary detention of a minor of less than 15 years” following the police investigation, Grenoble’s prosecutor said in a press release issued late on Sunday. |
| The man was at the wedding during which the girl – who was attending the event with her parents – went missing, the statement said. Maëlys, who has dark brown hair and eyes, has not been seen since. | The man was at the wedding during which the girl – who was attending the event with her parents – went missing, the statement said. Maëlys, who has dark brown hair and eyes, has not been seen since. |
| Scores of police, search and rescue teams, divers and cavers have spent the week trawling through the heavily wooded area near the community hall for signs of her. | Scores of police, search and rescue teams, divers and cavers have spent the week trawling through the heavily wooded area near the community hall for signs of her. |
| The 34-year-old is one of two suspects who were detained on Thursday over inconsistencies in their statements, but released on Friday evening. | The 34-year-old is one of two suspects who were detained on Thursday over inconsistencies in their statements, but released on Friday evening. |
| “Brought before investigating judges at the end of the afternoon, he contested the facts. Confronted with testimony, findings and scientific evidence, he persisted in his denials and explanations,” the statement said. “This did not convince the investigative judges, who decided to hold him,” it added. | “Brought before investigating judges at the end of the afternoon, he contested the facts. Confronted with testimony, findings and scientific evidence, he persisted in his denials and explanations,” the statement said. “This did not convince the investigative judges, who decided to hold him,” it added. |
| “After the debate … between the prosecutor and the defence,” the man was placed in provisional detention, the statement added. | |
| Police have interviewed about 250 people since Sunday, including most of the 180 guests at the wedding, as well as several others who attended parties held the same night at a nearby bar and church hall. | Police have interviewed about 250 people since Sunday, including most of the 180 guests at the wedding, as well as several others who attended parties held the same night at a nearby bar and church hall. |
| Sniffer dogs lost the scent from Maëlys’s cuddly toy in a car park outside the venue, raising fears she was kidnapped and taken away by car. | Sniffer dogs lost the scent from Maëlys’s cuddly toy in a car park outside the venue, raising fears she was kidnapped and taken away by car. |