Disappeared for six months – a bizarre turnaround in the Miriam case – 15-year-old is now in custody

Miriam El-Hatini (15) from the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt has been missing since June 2021. The case has received international attention in recent days because the police published two completely different mug shots of the disappeared. Now the police have found them, according to the “Bild” newspaper in Berlin. She was found safe and sound in an apartment by officials in the Reinickendorf district on Friday morning at 4:30 a.m. The authorities had previously received a telephone notification of Miriam’s whereabouts.

It is not yet clear where Miriam El-Hatini was before. As the “Bild” newspaper further reports, is now in custody due to the risk of escape.

The police suspected that the young person was in Berlin. Now the suspicion has been confirmed. In the days before her disappearance in the summer, there was an argument between Miriam and her mother, as the “Bild” newspaper reported. Before that, the girl had repeatedly committed criminal offenses and, according to her mother, skipped school. In recent weeks, entries have also appeared on social media in which a person who identified himself as Miriam stated that he was in the capital.

As the “Bild” newspaper writes, the 15-year-old has a lot on the kerbholz. She had already stayed in shisha bars in her hometown of Halle and switched from high school to secondary school because of poor performance. However, she often skipped classes. There were also shoplifting and fare dodging. Out of desperation, she reported her mother to the authorities in March 2021, whereupon they ordered a three-month stay in a youth psychological facility.

Already in August the now found made itself felt in Berlin. She was caught shoplifting at the time. However, she presented a German-Turkish passport that did not belong to her. Compared to the “Bild” newspaper, she stated in an interview in the weeks that followed that she was not in danger. «I don’t have to have any contact with my family. On my Facebook page there is speculation that I was murdered, that I was a victim of some kind of sexual offense. I find it unpleasant that other people worry about how I am doing even though I am doing well. There are other children who are really wanted and whose parents sometimes despair. ”

The case caused a stir, mainly because of the police wanted photos taken by the German police. In one of the pictures, the girl’s eyes and lips looked exaggerated. The picture also showed her with long, dark blonde hair, wide eyebrows and greatly elongated eyelashes. Presumably the photo was edited with a computer or an app. She also wore blue-gray contact lenses in the picture. In the other photo that the police released, Miriam wore less makeup and has thinner eyebrows.