Heartbreaking moment eight-year-old girl grips the hands of detectives as she is rescued following a tense standoff with heavily-armed police
The heartbreaking moment an eight-year-old girl tightly grips the hands of detectives after being rescued from her alleged abductor has been revealed.
The little girl was allegedly taken by her 44-year-old father from a Department of Child Safety facility in Maroochydore, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, on Thursday.
The man is alleged to have coaxed his daughter into his blue Toyota Hilux before driving several hours away from the government facility.
The pair were pursued by police onto a rural property in Eerwah Vale with a helicopter, bearcats and tactical officers arriving at the scene at 6pm.
After a tense standoff the man eventually released his daughter, who was captured gripping the hands of two detectives as they walked along a dirt road.
‘The girls safe…probably highly traumatised,’ a female detective is heard saying.
Moments later, her father is seen walking up the same road in handcuffs.
He was charged with child stealing and trespass – unlawfully enter or remain in dwelling or yard.
The heartbreaking moment an eight-year-old girl tightly grips the hands of detectives after being rescued from her alleged abductor, her father, has been revealed
The 44-year-old man was led down the same dirt road in handcuffs a short time later
He fronted Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Friday where he was refused bail.
The man will face court again in 2025.
It comes after a state-wide Amber Alert was issued by police on Thursday, who also released a photo of the eight-year-old and a dark blue Hilux.
The little girl was found ‘safe and well’ on a regional property at 6pm, police said in a statement on Thursday.
‘Police would like to thank the public and the media for their assistance,’ it said.
Detective Acting Inspector Wiggins earlier described the alleged abduction as ‘forceful’ but that there was no evidence the man had been armed.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli was asked by reporters on Friday how the girl was taken from under the noses of staff at the government facility.
‘It should be looked at, and I make the point and I make the point that the matter is now before court,’ Mr Crisafulli said.
