Surrey - search is on after kid seen being 'taken' by a van

Surrey - search is on after kid seen being 'taken' by a van

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FlyingMeeces

Original Poster:

9,932 posts

217 months

Thursday 25th August 2016
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Doesn't sound great, this one.
BBC article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-371921...

Left his bike, gone off in fairly distinctive slightly trashed black van.

Hoping for a good outcome, aware the odds aren't great.

FlyingMeeces

Original Poster:

9,932 posts

217 months

Friday 26th August 2016
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el stovey said:
Seems very odd so far. Aparently boy hasn't been reported missing, just some people saw the boy getting into the van? Apologies if I've got it wrong.
No, think you're exactly right. But unfortunately that nobody's thought to/is in a state to report him missing, is not positive proof that he's safe and OK, and IF this is a hostile abduction, or parent absconding with child subject to care order etc, these first few hours will very much be the critical ones - especially if it's actually someone who is an immediate danger to the kid. They can't gamble on it being uncle Fred picking him up as usual, when they don't know who it is, van in what sounds like rough state too (missing window did I see somewhere?) and so on.

Hopefully by tomorrow morning there'll be confirmation that it WAS uncle Fred, everything's fine, big anticlimax all round.

FlyingMeeces

Original Poster:

9,932 posts

217 months

Friday 26th August 2016
quotequote all
I was I guess thinking along similar lines - 'best' case, it's a member of the kids family but they're a bit off the grid, don't watch the news, no interest in speaking to the fuzz even to reassure them etc - or worst case this is a neglected kid and whoever should have reported him missing will be waking up with a hangover in the next few hours. frown

FlyingMeeces

Original Poster:

9,932 posts

217 months

Friday 26th August 2016
quotequote all
BlackLabel said:
Here's hoping. Irresponsible as fk if it is a prank but much better than most of the alternative explanations.

FlyingMeeces

Original Poster:

9,932 posts

217 months

Friday 26th August 2016
quotequote all
It is very weird. I'm wondering exactly what they're going on that has them continuing to think that this was a real incident of some kind; I thought CCTV coverage round there would be good enough that tracing the van would be… if not easy then at least possible.

Mind you I wouldn't want to be the copper making the call to stand down a search for a six year old, even a possibly made up one, either.

FlyingMeeces

Original Poster:

9,932 posts

217 months

Monday 29th August 2016
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What in this context does PcoJ mean - falsely reporting an incident would normally be wasting police time, right?

FlyingMeeces

Original Poster:

9,932 posts

217 months

Monday 29th August 2016
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R8Steve said:
So wait a minute, if you report a crime you suspect of happening you get arrested for PTCoJ now if you are mistaken?

I'm sure there must be more to the story/history of the witness as that seems rather odd.
I'm pretty certain that the police now think he reported something that didn't actually happen at all, from the sound of it - so not that he reported it because he saw a kid being picked up, but he invented the whole thing.

Although PtCoJ is a weird charge for that, it does sound like that's what the fuzz think.

FlyingMeeces

Original Poster:

9,932 posts

217 months

Monday 29th August 2016
quotequote all
Rich_W said:
Purely hypothetical

If you want to commit a crime, the best way is to get the police to focus all their attention on something else at the same time. And nothing focuses a Police force mind like a Child abduction.
Oh. Ohhhh. Excellent point, yes. Everyone crapping themselves, helicopter out all desperately searching for a fictional black van would be a very good time to be up to no good in the other end of the borough/county.