BELGIUM - Liam Vanden Branden, 2, Mechelen, Belgium, May 3, 1996

[Megsc]

(The picture on the right is an age progression to 15yrs old)


1455DMBEL - Liam Chantal Justin Jozef Vanden Branden

Name: Liam Chantal Justin Jozef Vanden Branden
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: May 3, 1996
Location Last Seen: Mechelen, Belgium

Physical Description​

Date of Birth: March 16, 1994
Age: 2 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 2'11" (90 cm)
Weight: 33 lbs.
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Grey-blue
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Slight burn mark on left elbow, fair complexion. He speaks Dutch. Blood group A+.

Identifiers​

Dentals: Not Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Green jeans, grey pullover with colored sleeves and ''Jungle King'' written on the front and ecru shoes with ''Tom & Jerry'' inscribed on it.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Disappearance​

Liam disappeared around 5.15 pm in the vicinity of his grandmother's house, on the Zennegat in Mechelen, Belgium.

Authorities considered the possibility Liam fell into the water and drowned; however, dozens of searches by volunteers and fire brigade divers yielded no trace of Liam. In 2020, authorities entered his DNA profile into a database for missing persons.

Investigating Agency(s)​

Agency Name: Belgian Federal Police
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 0800/30.300 or 0032 2 554 44 88 for International calls
Agency E-Mail: opsporingen(at)police.belgium.eu
Agency Case Number: Unknown

NamUs Case Number: Not listed
NCIC Case Number: Unknown

 

[Megsc]

Peuter Liam al 24 jaar vermist, maar nu gaat zijn DNA-profiel in databank: “Zeg nooit ‘nooit’”

(Here's a translation from the article above, made with google translation)

"Toddler Liam has been missing for 24 years, but now his DNA profile is in the database: “Never say 'never'”

On the International Day of Missing Children, Alain Remue of the Missing Persons Unit asks today to take a moment to consider long-running cases such as two-year-old Liam Vanden Branden, the only disappearance of a young child that has never been solved since the cell was established. “We are trying to enter Liam's DNA profile into the DNA database for missing persons,” Remue said on Radio 1.

Never say never. Suppose remains are found somewhere at work tomorrow, this could very well lead to a link being created to an open file, such as Liam. You have to do everything you can to try to give the parents an answer, sometimes against your better judgement.”

Liam disappeared on May 3, 1996 at the Zennegat in Mechelen. “We investigated everything we could investigate. We have returned to the Zennegat countless times, with no results.”

The disappearance of the toddler turned out to be the first major case since the establishment of the Cell in 1995. “It is the youngest child that we have never found. We always found young children that we subsequently had to track down, either alive or dead due to circumstances. We never found Liam. His disappearance does not let us go. We see his photo every day in the office. Not knowing what happened to your child is incredibly bad. We can't imagine that.”

“It once sounded bizarre to me, but over the past 25 years I have learned that delivering bad news can be a salvation for people. It won't make you happy, of course not. But it provides a moment of peace, from then on you can say goodbye and start the grieving process.”

Not thanks to Dutroux, I would never wish him that honor, but we have learned a lot through the Dutroux case

Remue also advocates better cooperation at European level. “Unfortunately, we are quite unique in Europe with the Missing Persons Unit. A European network of (police) units dealing with missing persons, comparable to our Unit, would be ideal. I hope I see something like this develop in the coming years. We are in close contact with Dutch, French and British police services, but in many countries there is still too little government attention to missing persons and missing children in particular. Not thanks to Dutroux, I would never wish him that honor, but we have learned a lot through the Dutroux case. In Belgium we have a system that can respond quickly with the prosecutors, the police and partners such as Child Focus.” "

 

[Megsc]

Une pièce pour ne pas oublier Liam et les autres disparus
(Here's a translation from pieces of the article above)

"A coin to not forget Liam and the other missing ones

A million €2 coins bearing the image of the little boy, who disappeared twenty years ago in Belgium, are entering circulation. An operation to mobilize around missing children.

(...)

“Liam embodies all the children whose trace has not been found”

Liam Vanden Branden, a Belgian boy who disappeared at the age of 2 and a half
while the blond boy was playing in his grandmother's garden in Mechelen, twenty years ago now. And from whom his family remains desperately without news. “Liam is the youngest missing child in Belgium whose trace has never been found,” explains the Child Focus Belgium association, at the origin of this unprecedented and symbolic communication operation. Liam embodies all the children whose trace has not been found. It is about remembering the fate of all the missing minors, yesterday, today and tomorrow. It is a form of homage as well as a call to mobilization. »

(...)

The initiators of the operation are also counting on social networks to amplify their campaign, by inviting every occasional owner of the coin to take a photo of themselves and post it with the hashtag #CoinsofHope."

 

[Megsc]

PROLOOG | liamvandenbranden
(translation made with google translate)

"On Friday, May 3, 1996, the lives of Danielle Huysmans and Dirk Vanden Branden changed. What started as an ordinary working day for both of them ended in a nightmare. Liam played with his brother Levi and their nephew Mike in the safe haven of their grandmother's house until around 5 p.m. That's when he was last seen. Since then, every trace has been missing and the Vanden Branden family was torn apart. The search was still not stopped after more than twenty years.

There are still many questions surrounding what exactly happened at the time of Liam's disappearance. When Sandra noticed that Liam was nowhere to be found, she immediately called the grandmother. “She was just on her way to the bank at the time,” says Danielle, “so my sister thought she had brought Liam along for some fresh air, but that turned out not to be the case. When my sister wanted to go outside, she noticed that the front door was ajar, which was normally never the case.'


Did Liam open the door himself? Did someone leave it open? Or did someone force it open? After more than twenty years, it is still not clear how Liam got outside. Cousin Mike claimed to have seen a man with a beard, which he later explained to investigators, but they did not trust the statement because such a young child dares to confuse fantasy and reality.


Sister Sandra had also noticed a man who was just getting into his car when he went outside. She asked him if he had seen a little blond boy, but he got into his car and immediately drove away. 'My sister was able to write down the first three letters of the license plate. A hypnotist tried to figure out the rest, but that yielded no results.'


The lock keepers who worked all day near the water also never noticed a little blond boy."

 

[Carovb5]

Thanks for making a thread for Liam. His name is Liam Vanden Branden (‘Vanden’ is not a middle name).

I’ll report my post to get the name adjusted in the title. This correct name will also help while searching for his case online. There’s a lot about his case online.

Edited to add the Belgian police page for his name: Liam VANDEN BRANDEN

 

[Megsc]

Thanks for making a thread for Liam. His name is Liam Vanden Branden (‘Vanden’ is not a middle name).

I’ll report my post to get the name adjusted in the title. This correct name will also help while searching for his case online. There’s a lot about his case online.

Edited to add the Belgian police page for his name: Liam VANDEN BRANDEN

Thank you! I thought Vanden was actually a middle name.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Nieuwe campagne Child Focus: Liam Vanden Branden wordt gelinkt aan doelman Thibaut Courtois | RTV

De vermiste Liam Vanden Branden uit Mechelen krijgt na 28 jaar een nieuwe naam. Zijn opsporingsbericht wordt gelinkt aan de populaire doelman Thibaut Courtois. Dat past in een nieuwe campagne van Child Focus.

www.rtv.be

The Doe Network: Case File 1455DMBEL

I've been searching for a MSM source (so not Wikipedia nor a blog) that discusses what the eyewitnesses from the neighborhood say they believe they witnessed around the time Liam went missing. If anyone finds a detailed article from MSM with such additional information, please post a link.

My heart goes out to Liam's family.