There has been no sign of life from 9-year-old Valeriia for almost a week. Now the father of the missing girl has addressed the public with an emotional video message. He expresses his suspicion that his daughter has been kidnapped.
Where is little Valeriia and what happened to the girl? These questions have been occupying the police, residents of Döbeln (Saxony) and especially the family of the 9-year-old since Monday. Father Roman G., who is currently fighting against Russian troops in his Ukrainian homeland, has spoken out in a desperate video message via “Bild”.
“It is the sixth day of the search and it is still unclear where my daughter is. I would like to thank everyone who is helping to find Valeriia. While I was protecting the peaceful sleep of Ukrainian children at the front, my own daughter disappeared without a trace,” says Roman G. and then turns directly to the alleged kidnappers.
“I address my words to those who are involved in her disappearance: Find the courage to give us parents back our beloved child. I hope so much that I will soon be able to hold my daughter in my arms,” continued the 32-year-old. The father is firmly convinced that Valeriia was kidnapped.
The police are investigating all possible avenues. This includes a kidnapping, but also the possibility that the child is in hiding or has had an accident. The girl, who is from Ukraine, lives with her mother in Germany, and her father is currently waiting for his papers to travel to Germany.
The police had previously confirmed that they were in contact with the father. “However, we would not go to the trouble of going to Döbeln if we believed that the girl was abroad,” said a police spokesman.
Nine-year-old Valeriia was last seen on Monday morning when, according to police, she was on her way to school at around 6:50 a.m. However, as it later turned out, she was not in class.
On Friday, the extensive search operation involving divers, special dogs and hundreds of police officers was unsuccessful. A drone and a helicopter were also used. So-called super-recognizers had viewed large numbers of images and videos. But there is no trace of the girl.