Police and Volunteers Search for Abducted 11-Year-Old Girl Near Varna

Bulgarian police have been searching for four days for an 11-year-old girl from the village of Konstantinovo, near Varna, after she was reportedly taken from her home in the early hours of Monday, 30 June. The case has shaken the Black Sea region and triggered one of Bulgaria's most visible child-safety alert mechanisms.

What Happened

According to Dariknews and Varna24, relatives say that a 40-year-old man named Asen Antonov Simeonov forced his way into the family home during the night, threatened the girl that he would harm her mother if she refused to go with him, and then took her. A physical confrontation reportedly left the mother with a broken arm. Simeonov is described as the mother's former partner and is not the girl's biological father. Family members told local media that both the child and her mother had suffered domestic violence from the man over a number of years, and that he had previously served a prison sentence.

The girl, Nataliya Slavova Asenova, is described by Varna24 as approximately 160 cm tall, with a sturdy build, chestnut hair to her shoulders and light eyes. At the time of her disappearance she was wearing light-coloured long trousers, a short white jacket with red flowers, and black trainers. Simeonov is around 170 cm tall, also of sturdy build, with short-cropped hair and brown eyes, last seen in a blue short-sleeved T-shirt, black sports trousers and black trainers.

Amber Alert Activated, Volunteers Join the Search

The Varna Regional Police Directorate (ODMVR) issued an urgent public appeal and distributed photographs of both the child and the man. Dariknews reports that the Cybercrime Directorate under Bulgaria's General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime activated the country's AMBER Alert system, which is integrated with Facebook and Instagram and can push notifications to users within roughly 200 kilometres of the disappearance within 30 minutes. A BG-Alert emergency broadcast was also issued, according to Varna24.

By the fourth day of the search, Varna24 reported that the operation was still ongoing. Volunteers joined police in combing the area, and one witness account suggested Nataliya may have been spotted near the village of Yunak, prompting drone and binocular searches of the surrounding countryside. Volunteers continued to assist the formal search teams throughout the period.

Petel reports that Simeonov had himself previously gone missing for days at a time, a detail investigators are said to be factoring into their search strategy. Dnevnik and a follow-up report on the fourth day confirmed that the search was continuing with no resolution announced at the time of writing.

Anyone with information is urged to call the emergency number 112 or contact the Varna ODMVR directly.

Western-context note: Bulgaria's AMBER Alert works similarly to the system used across the EU and North America, pushing geo-targeted social media alerts within minutes of activation.

For Bulgarians abroad: if you have family or contacts in the Varna region, please share this information. The police appeal remains active and every tip counts.