Wrong family linked again at Spoorloos, real parents already deceased: 'So angry and sad'
Broadcaster KRO-NCRV is 'happy to talk' to a woman who was linked to the wrong family in the program Spoorloos . The broadcaster announced this in response to an article in the Volkskrant , in which the woman told her story on Wednesday. Her real family has already passed away.
The woman, Marthainès de Vries, was linked by Spoorloos to a family that turned out not to be her real family more than twenty years later. De Vries later found her real family herself, but her father and mother had already passed away. "I am so sad, and so angry with Spoorloos . If the editors had done their job properly, I could have spent another nine years with my real mother and eleven years with my father. Now they are dead. I will never get that time back," De Vries told the newspaper . De Volkskrant also writes that De Vries has started a crowdfunding campaign to finance a possible lawsuit.
KRO-NCRV states in a written response that it finds it 'very sad and regrettable' that an incorrect match has been established. "We have been in discussions with Mrs. De Vries for months about her doubts and have immediately offered her to conduct further DNA research, which she has not wanted to use." KRO-NCRV writes that it is happy for her that she has found her own biological family in Colombia.
"We realise that she still has many questions and so do we. Mrs De Vries has informed us that she will contact us further. We would like to talk to her personally. We believe that this constructive approach does more justice to the situation, in which there is a lot of personal suffering." The broadcaster believes that it is 'not the right route' to discuss it via the media.
Spoorloos previously came under fire when it became known that several participants in the program had been matched with the wrong biological parents . A number of victims went to court last year.
Kees van der Spek summoned as witness in Spoorloos case
Journalist Kees van der Spek has been summoned for a witness hearing that will take place later this year at the request of the lawyers of victims of the program Spoorloos . This was confirmed by lawyer Royce de Vries, who is representing a group of victims, after reporting by de Volkskrant .
The newspaper writes that the hearings will take place on March 6 and April 15. A number of former editors will then testify in court. Among others, former presenter Derk Bolt will be heard. These are preliminary witness hearings. The aim is to get answers to questions that exist and to gather evidence for possible substantive proceedings, says De Vries.
A few years ago, Van der Spek revealed in his program Oplichters Aangepakt that participants of the KRO-NCRV program Spoorloos in Colombia had been matched to the wrong biological parents. Later, more mismatches came to light.