The French judiciary today requested the cooperation of Belgian authorities in an investigation into the abduction of a newborn baby, just 17 days old, from a maternity hospital in the Paris region by his parents, who may have already fled to Belgium.

“The important work immediately carried out by the investigators of the judicial police leads us to believe that the couple may have traveled to Belgium with the infant during the night,” French prosecutor Eric Mattei said in a press release about the ongoing investigation into a gang kidnapping.

Santiago, a 17-day-old infant, was abducted by his parents, aged 23 and 25, on Monday night at the Robert Ballanger hospital in Olne su Bois, in the Paris region.

A very premature baby, with a life expectancy without medical attention, estimated at 12 hours, according to a police source.

The abduction occurred between 11 pm and 11.30 pm last night and the hospital became aware of the event by disconnecting the heartbeat recording sensors.

A police source told Agence France-Presse that law enforcement forces were alerted this afternoon by staff at the neonatology unit to the disappearance of a premature infant in need of ongoing medical care.

“Examination of closed-circuit camera footage confirmed that the parents left with a black bag of some sort, possibly a light-colored vehicle, in which three other people were riding,” the prosecutor said.

By the afternoon, neither the baby nor the parents had been located, it was learned from the justice department.

According to the prosecutor in Bobbini (near Paris), both parents are “already known to the police and judicial authorities”, without giving further details. As part of this gang kidnapping investigation, investigators this morning arrested five people aged 16 to 29 on the outskirts of Paris and took them into custody, the prosecutor said. According to a source with knowledge of the case, those arrested belong to the “entourage” of the parents, who are known to police authorities and the judiciary.

The judiciary ordered the urgent repatriation of the infant, “if found.”

The criminal investigation is continuing “very actively, in cooperation with the Belgian judicial and police authorities,” Eric Mattei concluded.

“Santiago, a newborn baby boy, aged 17 days, with blond hair, wearing a brown T-shirt, size six months, and white velvet pajamas was abducted from the maternity ward of the Robert Ballanger hospital in Olne su Bois,” a press release from the Justice Ministry said today, specifying that the premature infant required “a continuous medical care.”

Searches were conducted at the homes of the parents, who live in the Paris suburbs, as well as at the addresses of family members, to no avail. In addition, police attempted in vain to contact the baby’s mother by phone.