Kidnapped baby recovered in Ozamiz City mall

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Misamis Occidental authorities have recovered the abducted year-old son of a Pagadian City-based Canadian businessman as the scope of the search and rescue operation for the boy and his nanny widened from Zamboanga del Sur to nearby provinces.

Maj. Gen. Rainier Cruz, commander of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division based in Zamboanga del Sur, said field reports furnished him by Misamis Occidental police authorities were still preliminary and the details were incomplete.

But Cruz said the reports confirmed the boy was recovered from somewhere  inside the Gaisano Mall in Ozamiz City around 3 p.m. Friday.

There was no mention of the boy’s nanny, who was snatched along with him early morning on Thursday.

“The victim has already been turned over to the Zamboanga del Sur police and was being transported back to his family in Pagadian City,” Cruz said in a text message to the Inquirer.

The boy, whose mother is a Filipino, was snatched, along with his nanny, by a group of unidentified armed men in Barangay Dau in Pagadian City.

Supt. Julius Munez, Pagadian City police chief, earlier told the Inquirer by phone that the armed men forcibly took the boy and his nanny from their house on Sto. Rosario Road.

The boy’s father, whom he did not identify, was not around when the gunmen struck.

The Pagadian City police initially conducted a search and rescue operation within its area of responsibility. The search was was widened later with the participation of other police units in Zamboanga del Norte, Lanao del Norte and Misamis Occidental.