CYPRUS: Police launch unprecedented manhunt after two school boys are kidnapped

Cypriot authorities on Tuesday launched an unprecedented search operation for two 11-year-old boys, who are Greek nationals, taken from outside their primary school in Larnaca, Cyprus police said.

Motive for the alleged adduction is unclear but random kidnapping of children – apart from the odd child custody dispute – are extremely rare on an island that is centred around the extended family.

And the incident has shocked public opinion which has triggered an extensive large-scale police operation to locate the boys.

Police named the boys, who are friends, as Themistoklis Doglis and Philippos Stamatakis and police were seeking a man suspected of kidnapping them. He is believed to be driving a grey or silver saloon car.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades – in New York to attend the United Nations general assembly – tweeted: “I was informed by the Ministers of Justice and Education on developments to locate the two children kidnapped today. I have given strict instructions to exhaust all possible means to find them.”

Police said the male suspect is aged between 50 -60, 1.70 to 1.75 metres tall and has a bandaged hand. He was wearing a black T-shirt with a pattern on the front, a dark-coloured beret and a waistcoat.

Cypriot media reported the incident happened before the first bell of the day.

A man pretended to be a new teacher at the school had asked a group of boys for help to carry some books from his car, state radio said.

The two friends volunteered to help while others later said they declined because the man looked suspicious, it added.

The alarm was raised 45 minutes after the two boys failed to show up in class.

Apart from an air and land search, port and airports have been alerted while Turkish Cypriot authorities have also been alerted at crossing point to the Turkish-controlled north of the island

“Everything has been mobilised in an effort to locate the children and to get them back safely,” deputy chief of police Kypros Michaelides told reporters.

He described the incident as “very serious and unprecedented”.