Police investigating the apparent abduction of a boy in Redhill, Surrey, yesterday have received no reports of a missing child in the area but are continuing to take the incident “extremely seriously”. According to a witness, the vehicle pulled up alongside the boy as he was fixing the chain on his bike at 4.43pm.
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The van was then seen to leave the area.
A member of the public reported seeing the young boy being “forced” into a van in Redstone Hill while a child’s bike was abandoned at the scene.
The van was a black, modified, VW Transporter with a 02 registration plate.
The boy is believed to be approximately four feet tall and was wearing a red t-shirt with navy blue jeans. It also had no back windows, no signwriting and a sliding door.
Officers said they were taking the report about the boy, thought to be six or seven, “extremely seriously” and had launched a “large operation” involving a “significant number” of officers.
Police are trying to establish the circumstances of the incident and remain present in the area.
He said: “We’re operating two particular theories, the first one and the priority line of investigation is that this is exactly as portrayed and reported, and that a child has been abducted from the roadside”.
Anyone with any information should contact Surrey Police by calling 999 in an emergency or 101, or report it online and quote Operation Bigfoot.
Local residents may be particularly concerned, but we hope our response reassures people how seriously we take any such reports of suspicious behaviour – our officers continue to work on this investigation and we will update on any further developments.
Superintendent Smith confirmed: “At this stage we are not ruling out a number of options, including whether the child and the person in the van know each other”.
The BBS alloys are described as “unusual” as they are usually found on Golf GTIs, say police.
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Alternatively contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
