After days of feverish search with hundreds of volunteers in the south of the Netherlands, there is now sad certainty: A missing severely disabled girl named Hebe (10) and her companion (26) are dead. This was confirmed by the mayor of Vught, Roderick van de Mortel, on Thursday. During the night, the young woman's car was recovered from a body of water on a highway. Inside were two bodies, police said. "We have every reason to assume that it's about Sanne (the companion) and Hebe."

The police were initially unable to say anything about the cause of the drama. It is now being investigated why and how the car fell into the water and how the young woman and the girl died.

Both have been missing since Monday evening. In the afternoon, the attendant picked up Hebe, who had multiple disabilities, in her black car from a disabled facility in Raamsdonkerveer. As usual, she was supposed to take Hebe home to Vught, about 40 kilometers away. But the two didn't arrive. The families alerted the police. A feverish search began.

Skid marks were then discovered at a motorway junction late on Wednesday evening. Finally, a police helicopter found the car in the water about ten kilometers from the little girl's childhood home.

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