On January 20, an Amber Alert was issued for the first time this year to locate two young boys, Mohammed and Nassim, who were abducted by their father in Fourmies. Fortunately, they were found safe later that evening. The father, a 38-year-old man, was arrested shortly after. The Amber Alert system, activated by the public prosecutor, aims to quickly disseminate information in child abduction cases, addressing over 40,000 reported disappearances of minors in France annually.
On January 20, a significant event occurred as the Amber Alert was activated for the first time this year, following a decision made by the Ministry of the Interior. Around 7:30 PM, authorities recognized the urgency of a kidnapping situation and swiftly deployed multiple patrols, including approximately thirty gendarmes and ten investigators from the Lille Research Section, as reported by BFM TV. Their mission was to locate two young boys, Mohammed and Nassim, aged 5 and 3, who were believed to have been taken by their father.
The troubling incident unfolded earlier that day around 1:10 PM in Fourmies, located in the Nord department. At the time, the children were with their mother, who was responsible for them, when the abduction occurred in a public area. Reports indicate that the mother was enjoying a stroll ‘in a shopping street of this small town south of Maubeuge’.
Details of the Recovery and Arrest
Fortunately, just after the Amber Alert was issued, the children were located nearby and were found to be ‘in good health’. According to the continuous news channel, ‘The two children sought in the Nord on Monday, January 20 were found in Beuvrages (Nord) early in the evening, just before 9 PM’. It was reported that ‘Mohammed stands at 110 cm tall’ and was wearing a black and white coat, black hat, black jeans, and black sneakers. Meanwhile, ‘Nassim is 70 cm tall’, dressed in gray jeans, a brown coat, a beige hat with teddy bear ears, and black sneakers, as per information from the General Directorate of the National Gendarmerie. Their father was driving a light gray Audi A3 with the registration number BD-761-QQ.
Shortly after the children were found, the father was arrested. He is described as ‘a 38-year-old man of North African descent, approximately 1.65 m tall, with brown eyes, short black hair, and a budding beard, wearing a navy blue down jacket, black pants, and black sneakers’, along with ‘a gray neck warmer’. At this point, details regarding his possible motivations or the extent of his involvement in the abduction remain unclear, but investigators are optimistic that their inquiries will yield further information soon.
The Amber Alert System: When and How is it Activated?
The Amber Alert system, as detailed on the Ministry of Justice’s website, is designed to ‘send a massive message to the population in cases of child abduction’. It allows for the quick dissemination of critical information nationwide to facilitate the rapid recovery of the child. The public prosecutor plays a pivotal role in deciding whether to trigger the alert, which is based on four key criteria. The abduction must be confirmed, and there should be no doubt that it could lead to a disappearance ‘even concerning’. The victim must be a minor, with their ‘life’ or ‘physical integrity’ ‘in danger’. Lastly, the prosecutor must possess information that could assist in locating the child and/or the abductor.
In France, more than 40,000 disappearances of minors are reported annually, averaging 110 per day, according to the latest annual report from 116 00 Disappeared Children for 2023. Notably, the majority of these cases—accounting for 95%—are attributed to runaways.