A malnourished 9-year-old boy was found lying in the fetal position in his father’s utility van in eastern France this week after allegedly being locked in the vehicle two years ago.

The boy, who was unable to walk after sitting for so long, was discovered Monday after a neighbor heard the "sounds of a child" coming from the van, local prosecutor Nicolas Heitz said Saturday.

Officers in the village of Hagenbach, near the border with Switzerland and Germany, found the boy "lying in a fetal position, naked, covered by a blanket on top of a mound of trash and near excrement" after forcing the van open, Heitz said.

The boy told authorities he hadn’t showered since 2024.

WISCONSIN COUPLE ALLEGEDLY STARVED SIX CHILDREN FOR YEARS, FORCING THEM TO EAT MOLD, BUGS AND DOG FOOD

The boy’s father was charged with kidnapping. He claimed to police that he had locked his son in the van in November 2024 to "protect" him from his partner who wanted to send him to a psychiatric hospital, according to the prosecutor.

But the prosecutor said there was no medical record of the boy having psychiatric problems, and he had gotten good grades in school.

When the boy disappeared, his teachers were told he had transferred to another school.

The man’s partner, who denied knowing the boy was locked in the van, has also been charged, including for failure to help a minor in danger.

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The boys’ family and friends told police they believed the boy was in a psychiatric hospital.

The boy’s 12-year-old sister and the 10-year-old daughter of the man’s partner are under the care of social services.

The boy has been taken to a hospital.

He told authorities he thought his father had no choice but to lock him in the van and that he’d had "big difficulties" with his father’s partner.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A mayor in Colombia announced that a corpse had been discovered and was likely that of an American citizen who had gone missing. 

Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina, a 32-year-old American Airlines flight attendant from Texas, had gone missing while in the foreign country, according to reports.

"Since last Sunday, we have been searching for Eric Gutiérrez, a U.S. citizen who is missing," Medellín Mayor Federico Gutiérrez noted in a post Friday on X, according to a translation from Spanish.

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"Unfortunately, a lifeless body has just been found between the municipality of Jericó and Puente Iglesias," he noted.

"There is a very high probability that it is this person."

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"We are heartbroken by the tragic passing of our colleague," American Airlines noted in a statement provided to Fox News Digital Saturday.

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"Our thoughts and support are with his family, loved ones and colleagues during this difficult time, and we are doing all we can to assist Colombian law enforcement in its investigation."

Fox News Digital's Alexandra Koch contributed to this report

An autopsy of the body of a 20-year-old University of Alabama student who disappeared last week while on spring break in Barcelona shows he likely died from an accidental drowning, according to a preliminary report filed by local police.

The body of James "Jimmy" Gracey, whose disappearance in the wee hours last Tuesday set off a frantic search by Catalan police forces, was found floating in the Mediterranean Sea days later. The report police filed with a local judge found no signs of foul play, but final results will be available on Thursday, according to Spanish newspaper El Periódico.

The Elmhurst, Ill., native had been out with friends at a world-famous nightclub at the city’s Port Olímpic district, which flanks a promenade on sea. 

A police spokesman told Fox News that Gracey’s phone had been found on an individual known to local authorities for past charges. The individual was ultimately determined to not have come into contact with Gracey and instead was charged with "illegal possession of another person’s belonging."

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On Thursday, Gracey’s wallet was found floating in the water. Police finally recovered Gracey’s body from the water near the nightclub where he had been on Friday afternoon.

POLICE CALL JIMMY GRACEY'S DEATH AN ACCIDENT AFTER VANISHING ON SPRING BREAK IN BARCELONA, AUTOPSY PERFORMED

According to the newspaper, security camera footage shows Gracey walking by himself onto a dock near the Shoko club and falling in the water. 

The preliminary autopsy report points to drowning as the cause of death with multiple injuries to the body consistent with repeated hitting against breakwater rocks, possibly during a swell.

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA STUDENT JAMES GRACEY DISAPPEARS IN BARCELONA AFTER VISITING FRIENDS STUDYING ABROAD

The police spokesman told Fox News that the investigation is ongoing and that their first line of investigation is accidental death. He noted that Gracey’s wallet was found intact with money, credit cards and documents, which lessen the likelihood of foul play.. They also confirmed the preliminary autopsy report did not indicate Jimmy suffered injuries prior to drowning. 

Fox News is still waiting on confirmation of Spanish media claims and on whether Gracey’s body was found with his gold chain and rhinestone cross. 

A Hungarian tourist reported being robbed of her gold necklace in the same area where Jimmy was last seen alive the night before the American student went missing.