>A quiet Sunday afternoon in the heart of Rennes was shattered by a chilling discovery when the body of a 12-year-old boy was found hidden in a bush along the banks of the Vilaine river, a wet towel knotted tightly around his neck. The public prosecutor’s office has launched a major investigation into the circumstances of the death, which has left the local community in shock.
A Horrific Scene on the Riverbank
The grim find was made near the city center, just a ten-minute walk from the historic Place du Parlement de Bretagne. A police source confirmed the child’s body was concealed in a bush. “A wet bath towel was knotted very tightly around his neck,” the Rennes prosecutor’s office stated, describing the disturbing detail.
The alert was raised around 4:40 p.m. when a fisherman heard the cries of a child he could not locate and immediately contacted the police. “Despite the call from witnesses who discovered the body, emergency services were unable to resuscitate the child,” the prosecutor’s office added. According to local media, the victim’s parents were taken into care by emergency responders.
A “Very Busy” Area Left in Disbelief
The location of the tragedy has baffled residents, who describe the riverbank as a popular and open public space. A 21-year-old neighborhood resident interviewed by AFP expressed her disbelief. “It’s a very busy area. There’s a park nearby, people often jog along the bank… It’s completely open and it’s strange that a crime could have happened here,” she remarked.
Another resident, a woman in her thirties who wished to remain anonymous, echoed the sentiment of a community grappling with the violent incident. “It’s a real shock. It’s a quiet neighborhood, not far from the center. I’ve never been bothered here. There are tents for the homeless along the canal, but they are not aggressive,” she said.
Intensive Investigation Underway
By early Sunday evening, a heavy police presence had descended on the scene near a residential complex by the water. A large white tent was erected as forensic investigators in white suits and blue gloves meticulously gathered evidence and photographed the area. Rennes public prosecutor Frédéric Teillet visited the site but made no statement to the press.
The investigation has been entrusted to the specialized organized crime division (DCOS) of Rennes. A key line of inquiry, reported by Ouest-France, suggests that police are actively searching for other children who were reportedly present at the time of the tragedy and may have fled the scene. No arrests have been reported as of yet.
