Mystery murder
Mystery murderiStock

Spanish police on Sunday arrested the main suspect in a 20-year-old child murder case - thanks to a DNA drive, Deutsche Welle reported.

An 11-year-old boy disappeared from a Dutch summer camp near the border with Germany one night in 1998. His body was found near the camp the next day.According to the authorities, the victim had been sexually assaulted before being murdered.

Dutch police launched a DNA drive in February, 2018 in the hope of finding the killer. About 21,000 Dutch men were asked to participate.

The main suspect in the murder, identified as Jos B., disappeared in April. Police tracked him to a cabin he owns in France. The suspect was not there, but police were able to obtain DNA samples from his clothes which matched their records from the DNA drive.

The suspect was arrested by Barcelona, Spain, "thanks to a witness who recognized him after seeing his picture in the media in recent days," investigators said.

Peter R. de Vries, the spokesperson for the victim's family, wrote on Twitter: "The family is very relieved. Justice will be done."