A 9-year-old was found locked in a van since 2024, malnourished and unable to walk

A 9-year-old boy has been rescued after living locked in his father’s utility van in eastern France since 2024, according to the local prosecutor. The child has been hospitalized, and his father detained. The boy’s father told investigators that he put the child in the truck in November 2024 “to protect him” because his partner wanted to send the then 7-year-old to a psychiatric hospital, the prosecutor said.