Identity of Girl Found in Greek Gypsy Camp Confirmed by DNA
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Hellenic Police via Getty Images(NEW YORK) — DNA confirms that a child found by police in a Gypsy encampment in central Greece is the daughter of a Bulgarian migrant, who says she gave up her baby because she could not afford to care for her.
Sasha Ruseva, a 35-year-old Bulgarian Gypsy, or Roma, said she gave birth to the girl, called Maria, four years ago while working as an olive picker in Greece.
The girl was found last week during a crackdown by Greek authorities on Gypsy settlements. Authorities became suspicious of the couple who claimed to be her parents, because of the girl’s blonde hair and blue eyes.
“We gave her, we gifted her, without money,” Ruseva told Bulgaria’s TV7 on Friday.
The Greek Gypsy couple, with whom Ruseva left the girl, were arrested last week for child abduction, a claim they deny.
The girl is being cared for by a Greek charity and is being held at an undisclosed hospital.
Her discovery set off an international search to find her parents, as well as crackdowns across Europe on Gypsy settlements amid rumors that children were being sold or traded.
Hundreds of families who are missing children, including several in the United States, got their hopes up that Maria could be their child.
The mystery was deepened earlier this week when Interpol found that there was no DNA match for Maria among its international list of missing children.
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