Kidnapping Report Unconfirmed

Just before our newscast on Thursday evening, word spread like wildfire that four students of Queen Square Anglican Primary School, three girls and one boy, were abducted by a man of dark complexion, placed in a white van and driven away. That report was made by two students; it caused panic in the community coming close on the heels of previous reports of alleged abductions in Orange Walk and other municipalities to the effect that someone in a white vehicle was allegedly attempting to kidnap school children. Police in the city went on high alert setting up checkpoints as part of the investigations, but came up empty-handed. This morning, some parents did not send their children to school out of concern and the principal of the Anglican School declined interviews. When we arrived at the school, it was all quiet and classes were in progress.  We note that up to news time, there has been no report of missing children to the police. The police held a briefing this morning to allay fears saying, however, that they are still investigating.

Edward Broaster

Sr. Supt. Edward Broaster, Deputy Officer Commanding Eastern Division

“Yesterday we got a report that four children were abducted. As of up to this hour, we have not had any report from any parents to confirm that their child has been abducted. We had canvassed the area yesterday, we expended all our resources yesterday in the area; checked with all the neighbors, the fire department included….everybody in that area to confirm that report and we were unable to do so. When we got this report yesterday about the four children being abducted, we acted on it as if though it occurred and we are still doing investigations and we are still doing cautions to schools. As we speak right now, we have a senior officer and the Officer Commanding Community Policing visiting the schools, talking to the principals and to the school wardens to emphasize this message or this advisory that we are putting out right now that if they see anything suspicious, please call us and so forth. Of course it is a concern for us when these reports are being persistently reported. So what we are doing as it pertains to the specific report of this particular white van and individuals in there, we are looking for white vans, we are pulling white vans over and we are checking who were driving them and so on. So yes, we are looking into the situation and we are checking and being proactive in ensuring that no such thing occurs in this district. That could have been the case that the van did pick up the students that it is charted to do so, but because the rumors had been swirling that a white van tried to do this in Orange Walk and I believe teachers are advising students to be on the lookout for a white van and so forth, and perhaps because the student saw that this van picked up these children, then the child naturally went and made the report.”