Starving boy, 9, found alive after being locked in van by dad for a YEAR

Starving boy, 9, found alive after being locked in van by dad for a YEARThe young boy, who has not been named, was discovered naked and lying in the foetal position in a van in the French village of Hagenbach a year after his dad locked him inNewsLiam Doyle12:14, 11 Apr 2026Updated 12:22, 11 Apr 2026View 3 ImagesThe boy was found in the French village of Hagenbach(Image: France Voyage)A 9-year-old boy who was left locked inside his dad's utility van for a year was rescued this week, prosecutors said, after neighbours heard the "sounds of a child" coming from the vehicle.The young boy was rescued and his dad detained after he was discovered in eastern France, having been locked inside the van since 2024. Police said they were alerted by a neighbour to "sounds of a child" coming from a van on Monday in the village of Hagenbach near the borders of Switzerland and Germany.After forcing the van open, they found a child "lying in a fetal position, naked, covered by a blanket on top of a mound of trash and near excrement".READ MORE: Two men behind 'Tripadvisor' style plot jailed after helping smuggle hundreds into EuropeREAD MORE: Redcar dog attack: Grandmother describes harrowing aftermath of mauling that killed babyView 3 ImagesNicolas Heitz said the boy was found after a neighbour reported 'sounds of a child'(Image: AFP via Getty Images)The child was clearly malnourished and could no longer walk, because he had been in a seated position for so long, prosecutor Nicolas Heitz said in a statement on Saturday. 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 boy to a psychiatric hospital, the prosecutor said. The boy was seven at the time.The prosecutor said there was no medical record that the boy had any psychiatric problems before he disappeared, and that the boy had had good grades in school. The boy told i...