"Louise-Marie Pauline" was the name given to a child found alone at the steps of an alley who acted confused, lost, and refused to speak. The girl was initially identified as Pauline Picard, who disappeared early that month, but when Pauline's dead body was discovered in May of that year, the identification was revoked. The child was sent to an orphanage, where she passed away two years later before her true identity could be revealed.
Case[]
On 6 April 1922, 2-year-old Pauline Picard went missing from her home and farm in Saint-Rivoal, France. She had blonde hair, blue eyes and wore a small white plaid dress. One hundred fifty local villagers joined the search to find Pauline after police were alerted but to no avail. The case was considered a kidnapping, and a newspaper named one suspect, who was an umbrella repairman between 50 and 55 years old, 150 cm tall, wearing a navy blue cap, with a graying mustache and a limp on one leg.
On 26 April, Pauline's family received a phone call from the police in Cherbourg stating they believed they had found Pauline alive. They explained a woman had seen the child sitting on the steps of an alley, acting confused, lost and refusing to speak to anybody, but her description and appearance matched Pauline, including a mark on her ear. The family was shown a picture of the girl, and after a train ride to Cherbourg on 8 May, they remained confident in their identification.
Pauline's behavior was described as strange, with her not appearing happy to see her parents, acting cold and distant as well as not smiling and remaining unspeaking. But this was explained as Pauline being traumatized by her abduction. There were also some physical differences, such as the girl having lost weight and becoming smaller, being 67 cm, while Pauline was 70 cm, frail and even described as looking younger than Pauline. The police reasoned that she wasn't fed or lost her appetite due to trauma as well as her speech, but it was noted how the girl was described as clean, as if someone had been caring for her. Pauline was brought to a hospital where she was determined to be in good health and could speak but was choosing not to.
Pauline's family brought the girl home with them. On the train back home, they attempted to get her to speak, but she remained mute. On 12 May, the family invited the village to see the girl, and more inconsistencies were noted, such as her inability to stand even though Pauline could walk. The town also agreed she was Pauline except for a 50-year-old farmer named Yves M. who asked to see Pauline. When he saw the girl, he asked if they were sure she was Pauline; the police found this behavior suspicious. When questioned, he shouted, "God is just! I am the guilty one!" before fleeing. He was quickly detained and forcibly committed to a mental hospital. The identification would be confirmed once the girl started speaking and knew the names of the family cat and one of the household servants. She also spoke a few words in Breton.
On 26 May, a dismembered body of a child was found in the village. The body was later identified as Pauline due to the clothing matching at the time of her disappearance. Her cause of death was determined as exposure during a snowstorm, and animals and local wildlife had scavenged her remains. After the discovery, the identification was revoked, and the police began looking into the girl's true identity. On 25 April, witnesses stated they saw a poorly dressed woman abandoning a child, prompting the police to try and find her. When they did, they found she still had her child with her, leading police to conclude she wasn't the mother of the girl.
On 11 June, a woman named Mme. Picard living in Paris recognized the girl from pictures in the newspaper. She said that her name was May and she had raised her for 23 months before her biological parents kidnapped her in February 1922. When Picard saw the girl, she explained she wasn't May and had mistakenly identified her.
On 13 July, the girl was taken to an orphanage as Pauline's family didn't have enough money to adopt her despite growning close to her. On 23 June 1923, she was given the name Louise-Marie Pauline, and by then, she had received 30 adoption requests. She would stay at the orphanage until 1 January 1924, when she passed away from measles.
Characteristics.[]
- Mark on her right ear.
Sources.[]
- Pauline Picard on Wikipedia
- Papers Past