BERLIN - German police said Thursday they rescued a 13-year-old girl and arrested an ex-convict accused of kidnapping and sexually abusing her after they followed up on a note the child managed to drop begging for help.
The girl's handwritten note was found by a man near trash containers in the neighborhood where she was held for five weeks only about a half-mile from her home. In it, the girl begged the finder to alert police and included the address where she was being held and the name of her kidnapper.
Christian Avenarius, a spokesman for city prosecutors, said the note read "this is no joke" and "it's a matter of life and death."
