Missing survivalist suspected of killing Dutch boy in 1998

DUTCH detectives said yesterday they had identified a suspect in the murder of a young boy two decades ago, in a case that has gripped the Netherlands.

Nicky Verstappen’s body was found on Aug 11 1998, a day after he disappeared from a youth camp in southern Limburg province. He had been sexually abused before he was killed.

Despite a massive police hunt, watched closely by the Dutch public, the 11-year-old’s killer was never found.

But yesterday, detective Ferdinand Schellinkhout told a press conference they were looking for Jos Brech, 55, a survival expert and former scout leader believed to be hiding in France’s mountainous eastern Vosges region, where he owns a chalet. He had been reported missing by his family.

Mr Brech last year failed to respond to police requests for DNA samples that saw some 16,000 men living in the area near the killing voluntarily tested.

“New investigative techniques gave us new opportunities. We now have a one-on-one DNA match with the (DNA) traces found on Verstappen’s body,” Mr Schellinkhout said.