On August 31st, the Givet gendarmerie in the Ardennes region issued an appeal for witnesses after the parents of 14-year-old Naomie reported her missing. According to the family and the missing person notice, the teenager left with her white, black, and pink bicycle.
The description describes a young girl, 1.59 m tall and weighing 50 kg, with red hair, freckles, and glasses. She was wearing a dark grey tracksuit and red and white shoes when she ran away.
Three days later (November 3), on social media, the girl’s father, Stéphane Boutard, announced that he had found Naomie. “Very relieved, I will pick up Naomie on Wednesday from the place where she is safe. I can’t wait to see her again. Thank you all for your shares and your support,” he wrote on his Facebook account.
As soon as this message was published, numerous comments from internet users flooded the social network in question: “Great! We are very happy that everything ended well. Good luck for the future” or “Great for you. So reassuring as a parent. Courage and happy reunion all together.”
In recent days, several disappearances of young people have filled the news sections of the local papers and television news programs. First, there was the case of 16-year-old Lilou, who disappeared on October 23rd in Metz, and was finally found six days later at the Grenoble train station.
While investigators are favoring the runaway theory, the girl’s silence and psychological state prevent them from definitively confirming it at this time. On Tuesday, October 29, around 3:30 p.m., 13-year-old Jessy Guitton disappeared in Châteaubriant (Loire-Atlantique).
According to the appeal for witnesses, the young boy is of slim build, Caucasian, and 1.65 m tall. He has brown eyes and short brown hair. When he disappeared, he was wearing a French national football team tracksuit and carrying a large sports bag.
Last June, a 17-year-old girl named Jessica disappeared in Villeurbanne, just as her baccalaureate exams were approaching. “A teenager who is in her room revising for her baccalaureate exams doesn’t think of leaving like that,” her mother told BFMTV.
We can also lament the disappearances of young Lina and little Émile. It is important to remember that more than 115,000 children go missing each year in France. Sadly, some of them are never found, or, if they are, are found dead.
According to the National Gendarmerie, nearly 11,000 disappearances are classified as worrying each year and are the subject of a specific search operation, as stated on the institution’s website. Recent news stories are unlikely to lower these figures, unfortunately.
Since Saturday, August 31, 2024, 14-year-old Naomie Boutard has not been in contact with her family. The police issued an appeal for witnesses. A few days later, her father took to social media to confirm that he had found his daughter safe and sound.