The Independent
October 19, 2013
Police had entered the camp in search of drugs and weapons as part of a crackdown on illegal activity in the area.
Their suspicions were initially raised after finding the girl, who was going by the name of ‘Maria’, when they realised she looked nothing like the couple she was living with, officials said on Friday.
DNA tests have since proved she was not their biological child, leading authorities to question if the girl has been trafficked or abducted into the settlement.
A hunt for the child’s real family is now underway. Greek authorities have requested assistance from Interpol and international groups for lost and abused children.
“Her features suggest that she might be from an eastern or northern (European) country,” regional police chief Panayiotis Tziovaras said of the girl.
According to Greek police, the mother claimed to have given birth to six children in less than 10 months, while 10 of the 14 children the couple registered as their own are unaccounted for.
The charity now caring for the child said she is “confused” and “shocked” by the abrupt changes in her environment. She was being used to beg on the streets of Larissa, because she was “blonde and cute” the director of the charity believes.