ISSUE NO. 1597
11 - 17 February 2016
COSTA DEL SOL
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
Kidnap averted MOTHER storms carnival kidnapper to rescue young son by Matthew Elliott Screaming “Let go of my son!” the primal roar of a mother defending her child was enough to stop the alleged kidnapper in his tracks, but was drowned out by the wailing racket and uproar issuing from the carnival loudspeakers. Believing the man, disguised as an FBI agent and wielding toy handcuffs, to be armed and dangerous, she hesitated, fearing the brute might harm her boy, just three-years-old and helpless. A member of the dance troupe, Juan Diego, alerted to her cry, came to help and managed to subdue the attacker. Before long a security detail and police were on the scene, a 47-year-old man in custody, and a pale-faced mother reunited with her child. Such went the shocking episode at the Malaga carnival last weekend as crowds thronged upon Constitution Square to celebrate one of the Costa del Sol’s greatest days. Wearing a green cap and dancing with his mother at the traditional Battle of the Flowers event, the boy had been one of the stars of the show before abruptly disappearing from her side.
They were being filmed by her sister at the time, in footage that is now being used as critical collaborative evidence against the accused. The man had claimed he simply found the child lost alone in the heaving masses and was trying to help, but was
captured on video watching the maternal scene and swooping on the boy the second his mother turned. Prosecutors now believe they have sufficient evidence to bring charges of attempted kidnap and the man, a Malaga resident, is now languishing in jail.
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