The disappearance of 13-year-old Philippa on Saturday in the southeastern town of Kirkerup, Slagelse, while she was delivering newspapers, dominated local media and social media. About a day and a half after Philippa's disappearance, searches continued throughout the night using more than 20 police dogs, DNA experts, and drones. In addition, more than 600 people contacted the police to provide information, observations, or CCTV footage from their homes and cars. Police announced a press conference to share updates on the search with the media and the public. Police Inspector Kim Cleaver and Deputy Inspector Ron Dahl Nelson of South Sheeland and Lolland Falster Police were supposed to provide the latest updates on the search. However, just minutes before the conference was scheduled to begin, police found Philippa alive and arrested a 32-year-old man in connection with the case. The press conference was postponed 15 minutes until 3:15 PM, at which time the new information was announced.
Shortly after South Sheeland and Lolland Falster police announced that Philippa had been found alive and that a 32-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the case, police lifted the cordon around a house that had been the center of an intensive investigation since early Sunday morning.
Although the police held a previous press conference regarding Philippa's case, there are still many questions that remain unanswered:
- According to the police, did the 32-year-old man act alone?
- Was it the 32-year-old man who initially detained Philippa while she was on her bicycle?
- What do the police think was the purpose of all this?
- What concrete evidence does the police have now?
- Is there a connection between the house that was surrounded by police and the arrest of the 32-year-old man?
According to TV2, the former head of the homicide division said that in such cases it is rare for the victim to be found alive. Former deputy police inspector and head of the homicide division of the Copenhagen police, Jens Müller, told the source that the police acted “steadily” and “quickly” in this case.
When asked how many times the victim has been found alive in this type of case, Jens Møller can only recall three examples. The first was in 1989 when a man kidnapped a nine-year-old girl near Sakskøbing and managed to take her for two days before she was found in a summer house in Odsherred. The second case was in 2008 when a boy was kidnapped with the aim of extorting money from his parents and was later found after a police operation. The most recent example is from Funen in 2012, where two girls were kidnapped a month later and sexually assaulted but were eventually released. A man was later sentenced to prison in the case.
Two people were released in the Philippa case.
Regarding the case of 13-year-old Philippa, police earlier today arrested two people from the local area. After questioning the two people, police investigations found no indication that they had any connection to Philippa's disappearance, and therefore they were released again.
It remains unclear whether police have arrested anyone other than the 32-year-old man and the two individuals who have now been released. Police stated at a press conference earlier today that they made further arrests on Sunday in connection with the case. The 32-year-old man will appear at a constitutional hearing, but the time, place, and whether the hearing will be held behind closed doors have not yet been announced.
Philippa will undergo a forensic medical examination, and will also be questioned when she is able to do so.
