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You are here: Home / Unsolved / Break in 1998 Nicky Verstappen murder

Break in 1998 Nicky Verstappen murder

August 22, 2018 By Alice

Nicky Verstappen Photography Dutch Police
Nicky Verstappen Photography Dutch Police

On Aug 10, 1998 Nicky Verstappen (March 13, 1987 – Aug 10, 1998) disappeared from camp. The camp, organised by local youth groups, was located at De Heikop, Brunssummerheide, Limburg, the Netherlands.

The night before he went missing, all camp activities ended at 10pm. Then the kids went back to their tents and it was lights out. Nicky (11) was last seen around the tent he shared with other kids at 5am. Three hours later he was gone.

The camp leaders searched for Nicky. They searched with volunteers, distributed flyers, and they did call police. The next day, the authorities launched a search involving local police, military police, K9 units, and aircrafts. Around 9pm, they found Nicky’s remains near a parcel where evergreens grow used for sale during the Holidays. That place was about 3950 feet from camp.

This morning, Aug 22, Dutch Police announced a breakthrough in the case that was cold for so long. They managed to get DNA off Nicky’s clothes. With familial DNA searches they narrowed down the group of suspects and zoomed in on Jos Brech. He is officially named a suspect. A national and international APB were issued as Brech, a local from Simpelveld, might be missing. Police was told that last year around October, Brech went abroad. His family said he went hiking in the Vosges, France. They have not heard from him since.

Jos Brech Photo Dutch PoliceBrech was “active in scouting and camping in the wild. He organized trips throughout Europe, and therefore regularly traveled by himself. The police think he may be hiding in a forest in the Vosges mountains. Searches were made in the mountains for Brech, but so far nothing has been found.”

I have posted pictures from the Dutch Police and in this link, you can find clips from Brech. Please check to see if you recognize this man.

If you can, share this post to alert all with ties to Europe that this man is wanted by police.

If you see this man, contact Dutch Police at these numbers:

calling from the Netherlands: 0900-8844
calling from abroad: +31 34 357 88 44

H/T to Jacques for keeping me posted!

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Filed Under: Unsolved Tagged With: DNA, familial DNA, Jos Brech, Netherlands, Nicky Verstappen

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  1. Arrest in 1998 Nicky Verstappen case - Defrosting Cold Cases says:
    August 27, 2018 at 11:37 am

    […] near the tent he shared with other kids at camp. When his friends woke up he wasn’t there. After extensive searches the next day police found Nicky’s body. He was in a field about 1 mile away from camp. He was […]

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On this website, I write about old, unsolved cases. Most are from the pre-DNA era and are in need of renewed media attention. I only do research and leave the active investigation of these cases to the professionals.

My posts are about homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to these cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme and research. It remains my prerogative to not review a book.

My database has over 300 cases listed by the victim’s last name. You will find a brief description there as well. The database will always be free to the public to use. You cannot buy ad space on my website, ever.

All writing suggestions that come in by email are added to my to-do list in the order in which they were received. Please be patient. My to-do list is very long but no case gets dropped and I will get back in touch.

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Alice de Sturler

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Copyright: Please add a link back if you use my work. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. If you need help with this, just contact me. Thank you, Alice de Sturler

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