French pensioner organises her own "kidnapping" from retirement home

It's a story worthy of the summer months and one that definitely brings a smile to the face.

But at the same time there's surely a serious side to it, as will become clear.

Suzanne Burgain (screenshot from i-Télé report)

It involves a 90-year-old French woman who apparently went "missing" from an old people's home last Thursday.

Except that wasn't quite what had happened.

"We'll help you discover another way of thinking about retirement homes," says the promotional video for the Château de Villemoisson, an establishment set in two hectares of parkland, 20 kilometres south of Paris.



Unfortunately one of the residents doesn't seem to agree.

Suzanne Burgain is a bit wobbly on her pins, and after a fall last May, the 90-year-old caved in to pressure from the rest of her family and agreed to move in to the Château de Villemoisson.

And the retirement home certainly seemed to fit the bill in terms of the professional care and attention it could give her.

But Suzanne didn't quite see things the same way and, according to the national daily Le Parisien, made five separate attempts in less than three months to leave of her own accord - no easy feat as she requires a Zimmer frame to walk even the shortest of distances.

But then she hatched a plan and roped in the assistance of her 20-year-old great grandson Anthony and one of his friends to organise her own "kidnapping" in between a change of shifts at the home.

The alert went out last Thursday after the director of the home, Laurence Imbs, rang the local police to say that Suzanne could no longer be found and shortly before her disappearance a young man had been seen leaving her room.

Police took the call seriously and used tracker dogs to comb the area immediately surrounding the home.

But all the while, as it now transpires, Suzanne was sitting comfortably in the house of one of her granddaughters - Anthony's mother - who was away on holiday.

She couldn't stay where she was of course and finally 'turned herself in" to save Anthony from getting in to any more trouble than he already was by having helped her in the first place.

Château de Villemoisson (screenshot from i-Télé report)

Neither though, seems to show any remorse for what they did.

"She's in great form for her age," Anthony told RTL radio.

"And whatever the consequences, it was and remains an act of love and I have no regrets," he added.

And Suzanne?

Well she remains as stubborn and determined as ever.

"Anthony helped me because he knows exactly how I feel," she said.

"The only thing that interests me is my freedom and to go home - and I fully intend to try to get my way again."

According to Le Parisien, legally, there's nothing the retirement home can do to try to stop her from attempting another "escape".

Suzanne is under no guardianship or trusteeship.

"We cannot hold her against her will, it's not a prison," Imbs told i>Télé.

"All we can do is wait for her closest relative (her daughter) to return from holiday so that we can discuss what to do next."