A nine-year-old boy has been rescued in eastern France after authorities say he spent more than a year locked inside his father’s van.

Warning: Some readers may find the details in this article disturbing.

The child was rescued over the weekend in Hagenbach, France, after a neighbor alerted police to what sounded like a child inside a vehicle, according to Tyla. Officers arrived at the scene and, according to local prosecutor Nicolas Heitz, found the boy “lying in a foetal position, n*ked, covered by a blanket on top of a mound of trash and near excrement.”

He has allegedly been living inside the utility van since 2024.

The child was malnourished and, after being kept in a seated position for so long, no longer able to walk. He has since been taken to the hospital for treatment, and his father has been detained.

During questioning, the father reportedly told investigators he placed his son in the van in November 2024 “to protect him” when his partner wanted to have the boy admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

The prosecutor, however, said there is no record the child had any psychiatric condition prior to his disappearance, and he had been performing well in school.

Authorities have placed the father in custody
The boy told investigators he had “big difficulties” with his father’s partner and believed he “had no choice” but to lock him inside the van. He also said he had not showered since 2024.

Authorities have placed the father in custody on preliminary kidnapping and other charges. The father’s partner has denied any wrongdoing. She has been charged with failure to assist a minor in danger and released under judicial supervision, according to the prosecutor.

Meanwhile, the boy’s 12-year-old sister and the 10-year-old daughter of the father’s partner have both been placed in the care of social services. According to investigators, friends and family believed the boy had been placed in a psychiatric institution, while his teachers were reportedly told he had transferred to another school.

The case has left the small community in shock.

“We don’t understand it. It’s horrific, there are no words,” a neighbor named Danielle told Sky News, according to Tyla.

“I never once noticed anything, never heard anything…It feels like we’re living in a movie or a dream, and we keep thinking, ‘tomorrow I’ll wake up, and maybe it’s not real’. We just can’t comprehend it.”

The investigation is ongoing.