14 DAY TRIAL // A 4-year-old girl who only speaks a few words in Greek and Roma has been found in a Roma Gypsy camp in central Greece. She is now called the “Blonde Angel” and is in the care of a charity while authorities are trying to find her parents.
As the NBC News video report below will show, the girl was found hidden in the camp during a drug raid. She had sought cover under a blanket and her appearance immediately alerted police officers that something might be wrong.
The girl, as you can see from the photo attached to this article as well, has very blonde hair, pale skin, and light green eyes. DNA tests have established she bears no relation to the couple in whose care she was.
The two have been arrested for abduction of a minor and have changed their story at least five times already. One of the stories they told the police claimed they had found the girl outside a supermarket and raised her as their own.
It’s more likely that the two stole the child and kept her as their own to get state benefits. They might have also used the girl to beg and thus get more money for them.
The “Blonde Angel” is now with The Smile of the Child charity, which has received thousands of tips since Friday, all of them possible leads into her identity.
Usually, police have to find a child when their parents report him or her missing: authorities have a child now but no idea where she came from. This is certainly an unprecedented case.
On the bright side, Costas Giannopoulos of The Smile of the Child says the little girl is fine, all things considered.
“She was frightened and cried herself to sleep. She is not looking for anyone and she is devoted to play. It has shaken everyone and has helped bring to light a major problem – just how easy it is to traffic children,” he says.