5 yr old girl "snatched" in Wales

[mumblechum1]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-19795761

Let's all keep our eyes peeled

Beaver, \link{http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/oct/04/child-abduction-statistics-england-wales\this says 532 cases in 2011/12 in England & Wales}, down from an historic high of '1,035 in 2004/05'.

So what is the definition of abduction used for the '50 per year' quoted by Pan? That Guardian piece does say that for 2004

'9% (72) of all reports were successful child abductions by a stranger'

is that the basis?

Yes, the average of 50 per year (I've seen it quoted as high as 70) is stranger abduction.

Remember the majority of those stranger abductions don't end as badly as it looks like this one will do.

no

in some ways I'm surprised that it's as high as an average of 50 for stranger abductions - probably because most don't end in this kind of tragedy

(& of course this one isn't a "stranger"...)

Ponders - the figure for child abduction being pretty consistent? From training events in safeguarding over the years - always comes up and the figure is often referred to. More sophisticated media in the last few years may make it seem more prevalent but the stats do not support it.

No, if they all ended like this there would be a story like this in the papers every week.

I admit I have a memory like a goldfish but there aren't that many in recent times I can remember, the soham girls, Sarah Payne. Madeleine McCann probably wouldn't count as not in the uk. Jamie bulger. They're the recent ones I can remember off the top of my head.

I can remember similar numbers of cases from when I was a kid in the 80s. I can't remember names as I was young but I do remember eating tea and watching the news and hearing stories. There was a girl who was sent to the corner shop for bread and never came back, a girl who was taken from a tent in her back garden, a papergirl where her bike was found in the lane with the wheel still spinning but no sign of her.

These things did happen when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s, my dh is older than me and remembers the kids going missing who turned out to have been taken by Ian Brady and Myra Hyndley.

it's tricky, and mainly, I think, to do with definition and who did the abductions. Parents have a big part of that, but the really tragic circs around April are very small. 'non-parent' abduction leading to death is v small.

was not with

Things you are breaking Helen's warning re guilt.

There is no evidence he was a risk to children.

Eh how am i breaking what warning?

In a neighbouring borough, 2 little ones were abducted last year

It appears they must have known ( in the local case to me ) that there was a man in the area who was a danger to kids, going almost straight there shows that.

I think Things was talking about her local case not the April Jones one when she talked about the police having previous suspicions and going straight there.

Things - well I hope you reported said man to the appropriate authoritties.

Things, see Helenmumsnet's post at 1814

supposedly April's mum steered the police towards him almost immediately, but surely if they were worried about him they wouldn't have let her go out with him before?

it seems more likely that that other kids locally knew whose car April had gone in that evening & would have said "it was Erin's dad's car" or something

if he had form April's parents wouldn't have let her go out with him in the summer, even with his own kids

I just don't understand this

oh sorry, Things - I misread your post

no, not a social worker, nor 'stalking' you at all. Sorry.

Porto he has been reported and is being monitored, they can't touch him until he's caught in the act. Till then he 'has every right' to be walking round by the school. We have a parents group liasing with the council, school, social services and police, and other agencies x

I have seen helenmumsnet's post and am certainly not breaking it :)

Alion, no, i apologise, there was no need for me to be so rotten. Sorry.

Ponders, no one understands anyone harming a little one. :( ((hugs))

The police might also have asked Aprils parents if they knew anyone with a left hand drive vehicle as the witness suggested it was a left hand drive. This may have been the reason the suspects name was put forward.

oh god - I cannot believe people are talking about micro-chipping and chopping the hands off murderers.

What happened to that little girl was the result of some kind of horrific evil and I sure as hell don't want the decent among us to buy into it by stooping to the level of child killers and resorting to medieval punishment methods - we are above that!

And as for micro-chipping, get a grip indeed. People were up in arms about ID cards and civil liberties. When something awful happens the last thing anyone needs is everyone else to abandon rational and reasonable thought.

Thats what i assume viva.. or the vehicle type.
The first report i heard was about april getting into the drivers' side and i said to DP it was strange and maybe it was a LH drive..

I did ask Helen to pop on and have a chat with us, so we know what we can and can't say, so thank you Helen for taking the time to do that.

I know emotions have been running pretty high this week, because of this awful tragedy. It is going to affect each and every one of us differently being parents, this is obviously our worst nightmares.

Aprils parents are living in utter hell at the moment, I just hope in my heart they find April soon, to bring a little peace to this family.

It wasn't other people, it was me.. that was further up the thread .. moved on now lol