4-Year-Old Girl Found Living In Roma Gypsy Settlement; Greek Launch Appeal To Find Her Parents

An international appeal was launched by Greek officials on Friday after a four-year-old blonde girl was found living in a gypsy camp with a couple unrelated to her in the Roma Gypsy settlement on Wednesday, the Associated News reported.

The girl was found near Farsala in central Greece during a nationwide crackdown by police on illegal gypsy activity. Police said they also found unregistered firearms and drugs on the settlement. The girl was allegedly snatched from her parents and police are investigating to establish how long the girls been living with the couple, who have been charged with falsifying identity and family certificates, according to the AP.

The father was a 39-year-old man, and the mother was a 40- year-old woman. They have been charged and arrested for abducting a minor. According to the certificates, the mother would have given "birth" to six children within 10 months, the AP reported.

According to the AP, the girl, with pale skin, blonde hair and blue eyes stood out to Greek police, and DNA tests prove she is not related to the couple; police have notified Interpol.

The suspects give different accounts of how they found the girl, saying she was found in a blanket, was handed to them by strangers and had a foreign father, the AP reported. The girl is currently in the care of a charity called "A Child's Smile" and assistance of European and global groups has been sought out to find her parents.

A police statement said the couple claimed a total of 14 children, but had registered different numbers in various locations of Greece. Officers found three more minors living with them that appear to be their children, but are still awaiting DNA testing to confirm, the AP reported.

Charity director Costas Giannopoulos said the child was undergoing medical examinations and was "shocked by how easy it is for people to register children as their own," he told private Skai TV, the AP reported.

"There is much more to investigate, there are other registered children that were not found in the settlement, and I believe police will unravel a thread that doesn't just have to do with the girl," he said.