Tel Aviv Police locate boy reported missing since Thursday
After boy's mother called his phone and an Arabic-speaking voice answered, fears of a kidnapping rose, leading Police to mobilize a kidnapping response procedure.
By Roni Singer-HerutiPolice on Saturday night located a 16-year-old boy who was reported missing on Thursday and was suspected of being kidnapped by Arabs from East Jerusalem.
The boy was spotted by police eating in a restaurant on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv in no apparent danger, and fears of his kidnapping were subsequently dismissed.
Last Thursday evening, the boy's mother called police and reported that her son had left their home in Bnei Brak several hours earlier to visit friends in Rishon Letzion and had not been heard from since. The mother stated that when she called her son's cell phone a voice answered speaking Arabic, leading to fears that the boy had been kidnapped.
In response to the mother's testimony, Police opened kidnapping response procedures, organizing a special situation room in coordination with agents from the Shin Bet security service.
Fears of kidnapping heightened after a pinpoint search of the cell phone's location revealed that it was in East Jerusalem.
After the youth was located on Saturday, he told police that he left home on Thursday to spend time at the beach in Tel Aviv with friends. He stated that at some point he handed his phone to an Arab youth, who did not return it to him.
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The boy is on drugs, lies to his mother, sells his phone for drugs. Let him or his family now pay back the money for the big missing search.
Whether the youth who "borrowed" the phone be a Jew or Arab, common sense would testify to the fact that never, in any country should you lend your phone to a stranger on the street. I hope this child has learnt a valuable lesson. I am glad to hear that he is safe.
I hope his idiotic parents are capable of making sure this doesn't happen again. I'd rather see our police making some futile attempt to fight crime. Last Thursday, during Ira Bira in Jerusalem, I saw a police officer spy my friend's wallet on the ground, pick it up and hand it to him. It was the first time I witnessed a police officer in Israel doing something useful. Please teach your arsim kids not to waste the time/energy of our police officers - they're barely adequate as is.