ARE THEY ALL LINKED?

• February 16: Shavar Bain, three

• March 3: Eight-year-old girl

• March 6: Tyvon Deveaux, eight

• March 7: 10 and eight-year-old boys

By MORGAN ADDERLEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

madderley@tribunemedia.net

THREE boys were allegedly abducted in two separate incidents in less than 24 hours, but were found a short time later, police said. A woman is believed to have taken the boys in each case. Police said they are investigating each matter separately but are looking to see if they are connected. The latest abduction took place before 4pm, when two boys, 8 and 10, were walking on Kool Acres Road in east New Providence when “they were picked up by a female who was the lone occupant” of a dark coloured vehicle, police said. 

Police said “a short time later” the 10-year-old was returned to Kool Acres, which is off Fox Hill Road, while the younger boy was dropped off at Tonique Williams Darling Highway, near the entrance to the city dump, which is a considerable distance away. When police gave a report shortly before 7 o’clock last night, officers said the eight-year-old was with police and had no physical injuries. 

This latest incident came less than 24 hours after an eight-year-old boy was allegedly abducted from a park off Soldier Road shortly before 7pm on Wednesday. This means there have been five incidents of reported child abductions in less than three weeks.

On Wednesday evening, Tyvon Deveaux was playing with a ball on a park two lots over from his house on Emmanuel Drive when he was snatched by a woman in a silver coloured Japanese-model vehicle.

Less than an hour later, he was dropped off near the entrance to the dump on Tonique Williams Darling Highway. The little boy was reportedly spotted by a concerned citizen who called police, his mother said. He was reportedly unharmed.

Chief Superintendent Solomon Cash yesterday told The Tribune that the description of the assailant’s vehicle is similar to the vehicle involved in the case of the child who was abducted from his home in South Beach in late February.

CSP Cash said officers are going to study these cases “very closely” as being perpetrated by the same individual. He spoke to The Tribune before police announced the abduction and return of the two latest boys yesterday. 

Tyvon’s mother, Georgina Armbrister, told reporters yesterday that she was cooking when her son was snatched.  

Ms Armbrister, a mother of four other young children, said Tyvon’s siblings were attending afternoon classes while he played near a church.

“He was playing on the park right there,” Ms Armbrister said, pointing to the nearby courtyard. “He say that one lady pull up on the side of him and yuck him in the car. And when she yuck him in the car, she mussy pull off with him and gone.

“It was light, in the afternoon,” she continued. “I come to the gate shouting, saying ‘Tyvon! Tyvon!’ but I didn’t see where he went. And as soon as I hit to the garbage to go look in the church yard, he wasn’t nowhere to be found.”

Ms Armbrister said the knowledge that her son was missing gave her instant pain in her stomach and a migraine, as relatives began the search for the little boy.  

Police provided further details of the incident.

“According to reports, shortly before 7pm (Wednesday), the child was taken from a park on Emmanuel Drive off Soldier Road, by a female who was the lone occupant of a grey vehicle,” police reported.

“A short time later, the child was dropped off at Tonique Williams Darling Highway near to the entrance of the city dump.

“The child, who had no physical injuries, was transported to hospital and examined by a doctor and is in good health.”

Ms Armbrister said her son is doing fine and was well enough to attend school yesterday.

CSP Cash told The Tribune Tyvon’s case bears similarities to another missing child case.

“We’ve been told that based on our information, the description of the vehicle is similar to the vehicle that was used in the abduction of the other child in South Beach last month - the silver Japanese car, either a Note or a Passo type vehicle,” he said.

“And then again we’re looking at (a) female being the person who abducted both the (child) from South Beach and the matter last night. So both (suspect sketches) will be compared to see if there’s any similarities in those suspects.

“But I can tell you based on that information, we’re going to look at them very closely as being perpetrated by the same individual.”

On February 16, three-year-old Shavar Bain was abducted from outside his home and then left frightened and alone outside a Fox Hill washhouse several hours later, sparking a manhunt for two women believed to be the assailants. 

On March 3, an eight-year-old girl was abducted from her home by an alleged male perpetrator. She was discovered walking in the area of Woodlawn Gardens a short time after the abduction by a passer-by and taken to the Wulff Road Police Station.

In the wake of these incidents, CSP Cash warned parents and guardians not to leave children unsupervised.

“While we are doing comprehensive investigation of all of these matters…it’s an arising trend, where these kids of similar ages are being abducted from different communities. So that is a concern.

“A lot of times these kids are not able to give accurate accounts of what transpired. So in probing them, and to establish the truth to the circumstances, it’s a bit challenging but we do what we can to establish the truth of this circumstance that they are reporting to us.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 502-9991 or the Crime Stoppers hotline at 328-TIPS.