Police are treating the case of a 9-year-old boy found
bloodied and distressed on a rural Canterbury bridge as a
suspected abduction.
The boy was found on Thursday afternoon on Holme Station
Bridge, about 15 km west of Timaru.
It remains a mystery as to how the boy got from from his
Oceanview Heights school to the bridge, and what happened to
him, as he is yet to utter a word about his ordeal.
"Unless we get further information to steer us in another
direction, we have little choice but to treat it as an
abduction," Detective Sergeant Dylan Murray told Radio New
Zealand.
Searches of the bridge where he was found were carried out
over the weekend. Officers interviewed teachers and family
members to get an idea of the boy's movements and possibly
find out what happened to him, said Detective Sergeant
Murray.
The boy, described as having a dark complexion, of slim
build, about 30kg with dark hair and closer in size to a 6-
or 7-year-old, was last seen at 3.15pm on the corner of
Luxmoore Rd and Selwyn St.
He was found at the bridge 45 minutes later.
Police would not disclose the extent of his injuries, but
said the boy "had certainly suffered some trauma", including
injuries to his face and is understood to have significant
amount of blood on his school uniform.
He remained at Timaru Hospital, in a comfortable condition,
but he hadn't spoken to family or police about what happened.
On Thursday he was wearing dark blue polarfleece, dark blue
shorts, a teal polo shirt and multicoloured backpack.
Police are appealing anyone with information to contact
Timaru police.
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