Remains of missing Belgian plumber likely thrown into Dutch canal

Remains of missing Belgian plumber likely thrown into Dutch canal
56-year-old plumber, Johan Van der Heyden, is thought to have been brutally murdered after disappearing in June. Credit: Belgian Federal Police

The statement was made during a television programme concerning missing person cases. Following the broadcast of "Opsporing Verzocht" in the Netherlands, the police received nine fresh leads.

Van der Heyden, 56, has not been seen since 2 June when he left his home in Lint (Antwerp province). His van was found empty at Bois-le-Duc in the Netherlands. The vehicle had probably passed through Steenbergen.

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Police are taking seriously the theory that the Belgian was near a caravan site and that he was killed violently for money. According to circumstantial evidence, the body was dismembered and burned. The remains were then thrown into the Escaut canal from a bridge in Steenbergen.

In spite of seven Dutch nationals being arrested, it is not yet firmly established what exactly happened to Van der Heyden. The Dutch authorities have offered €15,000 for any information that could throw light on his disappearance.

The case was also brought up on "Faroek", the programme broadcast on the Dutch-speaking Belgian TV channel VTM with the victim's sons present.

In testimonies given to the police, a 16 and 17-year-old identified as the children of a central suspect in Van der Heyden’s death said the man had been killed and chopped up with his body parts later burned in a campfire, HLN reports.

The Brussels Times


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