https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/182...e-jonge-assendelver-verdween-in-december-2016
New spotlight on missing Sidney Lute, the young man from Assendelft who disappeared in December 2016
ASSENDELFT -
She does not expect the renewed attention to her missing son to lead to many reactions in the Netherlands. But this week's initiative by the Peter R. de Vries Foundation may yield tips from abroad about the missing Sidney Lute from Assendelft. His mother Natasja Alderliefste (54) hopes her uncertainty will finally come to an end after almost eight years.
Sidney Lute - he would now be 26 - was last seen on 10 December 2016, at a cottage in Den Oever in North Holland that he rented for several weeks. An online train ticket was found in his mailbox from Den Helder to Colmar, France, in the Vosges mountain range. His phone was last active in nearby Strasbourg, also in Alsace. On his computer, he searched for the hiking route from Colmar to Stosswihr.
Alderliefste has visited the area in question countless times since her son went missing. Ever so often she has distributed flyers, hoping someone will recognise him from the picture. She has now even bought a cottage in the area, where she stays at least once a month. "Because that's where the last trace of Sidney is, I enjoy being there," she says.
Alderliefste has thought endlessly about what might have happened. Three scenarios, she says, make the most sense. "He may have come across the wrong person he trusted, Sidney was quite gullible. It could also be that he took his own life and wanted to do so without bothering anyone, i.e. without anyone finding him. But it could also be that he is still living somewhere, as a vagrant in another country. That life with all the freedom has always attracted him."
For a long time, his mother felt alone in her search. For instance, the police did not immediately take the initiative when Sidney's father reported him missing. "He was told not to worry so much. Sidney was an adult, would be enjoying a holiday and would turn up again. As a result, potential leads disappeared. When the police finally took action, the CCTV footage from Colmar and Strasbourg had already been erased. Those are only kept for 10 days."
According to Alderliefste, her life has changed radically since her son's disappearance. "I have learned to survive so that I can deal with the situation. But I have become a completely different person, in my head a huge reset has taken place. Everything has changed, even my taste in clothes."
Her feelings about Sidney going missing are also no longer the same. Initially, she assumed that her son would be found alive, that he would return home with her after his mother visited the Colmar region. Meanwhile, she is already happy if he is found at all, so that it becomes clear what happened.
When the Peter R. de Vries Foundation approached her recently, Alderliefste did not hesitate for a moment to cooperate. Not only to get possible new information in, but also to prevent her son from being forgotten. "If there is no more attention for him at all, I wonder what a human life is worth," she says.
BBM
Picture of mother & son at the link, unfortunately it does not appear when I post it.
