French girl, 3, kidnapped by masked men

AN INTERNATIONAL hunt was under way today for a three-year-old girl kidnapped by masked men in broad daylight in France.

International police organisation Interpol has put out a "yellow" missing person alert to 187 countries, including Britain, for Elise André, who was snatched from her father's arms in the southern town of Arles.

Police believe a woman wearing a disguise who took part in the abduction could be the child's Russian mother, Irina Belenkaya. She is the former wife of the father, Jean-Michel André.

The parents have been in a custody battle over their daughter since they split two years ago and the mother fled with Elise to Moscow. Six months later, Mr André took the child to France from Russia, where Ms Belenkaya had been granted a custody order.

The child was last seen on Saturday with a woman on a train in France heading towards Switzerland. Elise is three feet tall with chestnut hair and brown eyes. A French investigator said: "We do not know if this woman on the train was the child's mother and cannot say for certain whether she is involved in the kidnapping. The fact that no demands have been issued suggests a link to the girl's Russian family."

Mr André, who was punched and kicked in the kidnap attack three days ago, said he was "certain" the woman at the scene was his ex-wife. He told French newspapers: "I know that woman and I know it was her."