Balen (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Balen resident Heidi De Schepper has been missing for 15 years, so the police arrested three individuals for her disappearance. Antwerp public prosecutors have validated a major development in this story, according to Het Laatste Nieuws.
The police recently detained three suspects regarding the disappearance of Heidi De Schepper, who vanished from Balen when she was 26 years old, fifteen years ago. Public prosecutors in Antwerp confirmed the arrests while holding one person for suspicion of murder. Former detectives, together with her ex-partner, remain under official investigation along with the other suspect. Heidi, who had three children, disappeared in 2010, and school authorities learned about it only when they received counselling related to her missing status.
Law enforcement arrested three individuals aged 33 to 39 to 55 years old after conducting comprehensive investigation work. The 55-year-old female belongs to Heidi’s past, while the 33-year-old male faces murder charges. Spokesperson Kristof Aerts from Antwerp public prosecutor’s office declared that the ongoing investigation treats it as a murder inquiry despite the absence of a body. The 33-year-old suspect maintains a murder conviction record from 2012, but the crimes were unrelated to Heidi’s disappearance. The investigating judge will decide whether to detain the two questioned suspects.
The Antwerp public prosecutor’s office confirms that 3 men have been arrested.
“Yesterday, 3 people were arrested in the investigation into the disappearance of Heidi De Schepper,”
Said spokesman Kristof Aerts.
“They are being questioned about how they may be involved.”
The three suspects are 33, 39 and 55 years old. The 55-year-old man is Heidi De Schepper’s then-partner.
“The 33-year-old man was brought before the investigating judge last night and arrested on suspicion of murder,”
Says Kristof Aerts.
This indicates that the public prosecutor’s office assumes that Heidi De Schepper was murdered.
“The police investigation into the disappearance has always been classified as murder,”
Says Kristof Aerts about this.
The police initiated a thorough investigation after the CLB of one of the school children submitted a report last year. The search report mentioned that they discarded no possible tracks during their investigation. The police started a thorough investigation to determine if she had established herself in another place because she was desperate or engaged in illegal activities.
The investigation included explorations outside of the country, but no results were returned. Heidi’s dating partner gave police information about her sudden disappearance together with her complete possessions. According to public reports, he never received any communication from her since that time.
“The search report brought the case to the media and yielded almost 60 tips that the investigators have been working on,”
Says the public prosecutor’s office spokesman Kristof Aerts.
“At the same time, the police investigation that was started last year has always continued. These arrests are the result of strong police work in that investigation.”
What is the history behind Heidi De Schepper’s disappearance?
In 2010, the 26-year-old Belgian resident Heidi De Schepper from Balen, along with her three children, vanished without any explanation. A police inquiry started in 2022 after a school councellor reported her missing status, which had persisted for more than ten years. Heidi chose to stay disconnected from her family since relocating to Balen back in 2008 and remained completely separated after turning 18.
The government executed an official registry removal of her existence that entirely deleted her administrative record in November 2010. A person’s administrative erasure takes effect when there is no way to prove their residence for half a year, resulting in problems with identification cards along with insurance and banking services. Extensive searches throughout both domestic locations and other foreign territories turned up no evidence of Heidi.
The authorities recently arrested three suspects, including her ex-partner them, and one of the suspects received a murder charge. The murder investigation has gained fresh attention because of active police work alongside public tips exceeding fifty.
