19 Nov 2012

Police speak to injured Timaru boy

9:10 pm on 19 November 2012

Timaru police are still trying to piece together what happened to a schoolboy who disappeared for an hour-and-a-half before he was found distressed and injured last Thursday.

On Monday afternoon, officers spoke to the nine-year-old for the first time.

He remains in hospital after what the police think may have been an abduction.

He was found 15km west of Timaru on the Holme Station Bridge 90 minutes after leaving Ocean View Heights Primary School, where he is a student, on foot.

The South and Mid Canterbury Area Commander, Inspector Dave Gaskin, says it is still unclear what happened to the boy.

Inspector Gaskin says investigators will speak with him again on Tuesday morning.

He remains in Timaru Hospital in a comfortable condition with his family.

Detective Sergeant Dylan Murray said earlier on Monday the distance the boy travelled in a short length of time suggests that he was taken in a vehicle and at this stage, there is no other way to treat it but an abduction.

"He certainly suffered trauma on Thursday and we're making every effort to keep the stress to a minimum for him."

Police are seeking witnesses who may have been in the Selwyn Street or Holme Station Bridge area between 3pm and when the boy was found.