5 students between eight and ten years old of St Ann's Anglican Primary School in Belmopan City - claimed they were almost abducted by 5 men in a car yesterday.
According to one of the student's mother - her 9 year old daughter told her - they went to photocopy some work for their teacher - just up the street from their school - when on their way back, a blue car with 5 men inside - pulled up beside them and attempted to grab one of the students.
According to the child, they all ran.
Now, we are careful to note that there are rumors running rampant all over the country about people in cars or vans trying to abduct children. These we insist are only rumors - no hard evidence has surfaced even as the rumours multiply.
Still, the persistence of those rumours and the vulnerability of children as demonstrated in the case of the disappeared Rash children - has created a state of sustained panic in some communities.
And indeed that's what may have fed into this case, but as officer in charge of Belmopan Superintendent Alvan Gentle - when it comes to children's safety you can never be too cautious.
Alvan Gentle, Belmopan Superintendent of Police
"We got an official report so to speak from a parent, he gave information to one of the officers that he went to the school sometime ago to take something for his daughter and his daughter inform him that while she and 2 other kids were out on the street some guy in a blue car apparently grab at them and they ran off. So we had the police go into the area and the school to find this particular gentleman; he was not found and basically nobody at the school had any kind of information as such. But the police is still working at it. As a matter of fact our ZBLO officer, she is out in that area at this very moment trying to find out what she can, as the police definitely we can't take these kinds of reports likely. At this moment we do not know the extent of truth or the extent what its actually was so to speak but we are looking into the matter."
The students described the men as - 2 Caucasian and 3 with dreadlocks.
We did ask the school to comment about the incident but they refused and told us they were instructed by management not to do so. They told us we would have to speak with their manger at the Anglican Diocese in Belize City.
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