"Greece trying to identify girl found in Roma camp" Associated Press, October 19, 2013
ATHENS — Greek authorities launched an international appeal on Friday to help identify a 4-year-old blond girl allegedly snatched from her parents by a couple she was found living with in a Gypsy settlement.
Police are trying to establish why the girl was living with the couple, who are also accused of falsifying identity and family certificates, with the mother claiming to have given birth to six children within less than 10 months.
The child was found Wednesday near Farsala in central Greece during a nationwide crackdown on illegal activities by Roma, also known as Gypsies. Police say they also found drugs and unregistered firearms in other parts of the settlement, which is about 170 miles north of Athens.
But the blond, pale-skinned, and blue-eyed girl stood out. She bore no resemblance to the Greek couple, a 39-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman, who were arrested and charged with abducting a minor. Police said DNA testing confirmed that they weren’t related....
The suspects allegedly offered conflicting accounts — that the girl was found in a blanket, was handed to them by strangers, or had a foreign father. The police statement said the couple claimed to have 14 children, and had registered different numbers with authorities in three parts of Greece. Officers found three minors living with them in the settlement who appear to be their children, although that had not been verified by DNA testing.
The girl is in the care of a charity, which said Friday it has sought the assistance of European and global groups for lost or abused children in tracking her parents.
Charity director Costas Giannopoulos said the child was undergoing medical examinations. ‘‘We are shocked by how easy it is for people to register children as their own,’’ he told private Skai TV. ‘‘There is much more to investigate, there are other registered children that were not found in the settlement, and I believe police will unravel a thread that doesn’t just have to do with the girl.’’
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Also see: Migrating Across Europe
Related:
"Girl may return, but not her family
PARIS — Under fire from the far left and members of his own party, President Francois Hollande said a teen who was detained in front of classmates and expelled as an illegal immigrant can return to France. But the rest of the family cannot come with her. Leonarda Dibrani, 15, said she would not return without her family, who are Roma, or Gypsies."
