Boy, 11, found dead ‘with towel tied around his neck’ by river in Rennes as two arrested

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT The boy was found lifeless on the bank of the Vilaine River in the city of Rennes in northwestern France

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Police have questioned two teenagers after an 11-year-old boy was reported to have been found dead near a river with a wet towel tied around his neck. The unnamed child was discovered lifeless on the bank of the Vilaine River in the city of Rennes, located in northwestern France.

The alarm was raised at just after 4.30pm on Sunday when a fisherman heard the cries of a child near the river. He immediately contacted emergency services, prompting firefighters to rush to the location by 4:50pm. However, despite all desperate efforts, the young boy was tragically pronounced dead at the scene.

Following the tragic discovery, French police launched a murder investigation, leading to two arrests. Rennes prosecutor Frederic Teillet confirmed that on Monday, a 16-year-old boy was detained at his home, whilst a 15-year-old girl was arrested after turning herself in at a police station, reports The Mirror.

“It is therefore the two young people who were seen with the victim at the scene on the afternoon of the incident who are currently in police custody” on charges of “murder of a minor,” he said in a statement.

Teillet confirmed the victim had been 11 years old, not 12 as initially announced.

Local media report that the boy’s mother had been searching for him at the time the riverside ordeal unfolded. He had told her he was going fishing in the area with a friend. According to authorities, the ordeal took place “in a wooded area at the foot of several apartment buildings, below the bridge that crosses over the Vilaine River”.

It remains unclear how the three children knew each other.

The organised and specialised crime division has taken charge of the ongoing investigation.