Holidaying parents ‘forget’ three-year-old daughter and leave her at services

A little girl was found alone at a motorway services play area in France after her parents drove off without her. The three-year-old was able to tell police that she “was going to the beach” and “saw daddy’s car drive off” after a tourist couple alerted the authorities on Sunday afternoon. The child - who was left at the Bras de Zil services near Loriol in the Drome region - also told officers she had “one brother and one sister”.

I saw daddy’s car drive off…

What the little girl told police

The girl’s parents apparently drove for more than 100 miles, passing Aix-en-Provence on the way to Saint-Raphael on the Cote D'Azur, before noticing their daughter was missing, police said. The child’s father called police at around 3pm, some two hours after his daughter had been spotted, after alert messages had been broadcast on a traffic news radio station. The family was reunited late on Sunday afternoon. Police said they would listen to the parents’ version of events and speak to the public prosecutor in Valence before deciding whether to take any further action.

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