The mother of a nine-year-old girl found murdered in France has told how she watched helplessly as a kidnapper drove off with the girl after snatching her from a playground.
The naked body of the child, who is being named in French media only as Chloe, was found in woods close to Calais within two hours of the attack.
Prosecutors said there were signs she had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
A 38-year-old man from Poland, who was detained near the scene, has confessed to the kidnapping on Wednesday.
Officials said he was planning to cross the Channel from Calais to England, where his sister lives.
He had been banned from France after serving time in prison for robbery, but had made it back into the country hours before the abduction.
The girl's mother, named only as Isabelle, told Le Parisien newspaper how she had left the child playing with a friend in the playground for a few minutes while she popped into her home.
When she returned, the friend's grandfather told her: "Someone's taken Chloe."
She said she ran around the area looking for Chloe and then saw her daughter lying next to some bins.
Within seconds, Isabelle was screaming in horror as a man - who was described as bald and wearing sunglasses - suddenly grabbed the girl, shoved her in a red car and drove off.
"I saw her lying on the ground," Isabelle told the paper.
"And then a man I only saw from behind grabbed her and took her in the car.
"It happened too fast … I was paralysed.
"I shouted: 'Chloe's been taken'. I was in a panic.
"What I don't understand is if he had done something to her beforehand, because she did not cry out."
Officers were called at 3.30pm on Wednesday and by around 5pm, Chloe's lifeless body had been discovered.
Police found a red vehicle with Polish number plates nearby, and its driver - who was reported to be heavily under the influence of alcohol - was arrested.
Isabelle said she was "disgusted" that he had managed to get back into the country after being handed to Polish authorities last year after a Europe-wide arrest warrant was issued.
She said she "had not stopped crying" and is dreading having to explain to Chloe's younger brother and sister what had happened.
"I don't know how I'll recover," she said.
"Since this morning I've started to realise that I'll never see Chloe again."
One woman who was close to the playground told reporters she heard Chloe and her friend scream but only found out later that she had been abducted.
Later, while searching the area in the hope of helping police, she found a "little white shoe".
Tributes to the youngster described her as "cheerful" and "full of life".
One shocked mother told the AFP news agency: "It's horrific.
"My son knew her, he didn't sleep last night, he knows he will never see her again. I can't even imagine what the parents are going through."
France has been left in shock by the details of the girl's kidnapping and death, with flags flying at half-mast in the port town on Thursday and residents planning a march in her memory later in the day.
