He was playing quietly on the sidewalk, very close to a restaurant that was still open.
A child aged only three years old was found safe and sound on Friday evening in Mantes-la-Jolie (Yvelines) around 10:30 p.m. while he was alone near the avenue of the division of General Leclerc, the great boulevard that crosses the city.
A story that ends well but sends chills down your spine.
It was a city prevention officer who was patrolling with his team in the area who first became concerned about the presence of this toddler at this late hour, without adults by his side.
And only wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt and jogging pants despite the cold.
Without shoes, his feet were protected by simple socks.
A kidnapping attempt?
According to a source close to the case, the prevention officer then mentioned an attempted kidnapping, a group of adults having, according to him, tried to attract the child before taking him under his wing. .
Facts that remain to be clarified.
The municipal employee says he then rang several doors with the idea of finding the parents.
Without success.
It was at that moment that he saw a municipal police patrol stopped at a red light and alerted it with large gestures.
The child does not yet know how to speak.
The municipal police officers put him in their vehicle and took charge of him.
The national police were also notified and sent a crew to the scene.
The officers finally found the child's father around 11:40 p.m. The man was wandering around looking for the child.
He was able to get his son back after being able to prove to the police that he was indeed the father.
These facts are in every way reminiscent of the disappearance on a Sunday in October 2021 of another 3-year-old toddler found alone, in the early morning, in Plaisir.
At 7 a.m., it was a bus driver who saw him, dressed in simple pajamas and walking around barefoot despite the cold.
After a neighborhood investigation, his parents finally came to pick him up from the police station.