A Europe-wide manhunt is under way for the suspected killer of an 11-year-old Dutch schoolboy on a campsite 20 years ago this month, after the largest DNA testing programme in the Netherlands’ history finally produced a 100% match. In the latest twist to a cold case that has gripped the country since 1998, police in the southern city of Maastricht said on Thursday that more than 200 people had called in following an appeal for tips about the possible whereabouts of Jos Brech, 55, a former scout and playgroup worker.

“A lot of people are calling,” said police commissioner Ingrid Schäfer-Poels on Thursday. “We are now convinced the suspect has gone into hiding.” Described as a survival specialist capable of enduring long periods alone in the wild, Brech was last known to be in the mountainous Vosges region of eastern France, where he has a cabin, and has been placed on Europol’s list of the continent’s most wanted fugitives.(theguardian)…[+]