Abducted son of Canadian trader recovered in mall

ZAMBOANGA CITY—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 reports furnished to him by Misamis Occidental police authorities were still preliminary and the details were incomplete.

But Cruz said the reports had confirmed the boy was recovered from an unclear location inside Gaisano Mall in Ozamiz City around 3 p.m. on Friday.

There had been no mention of the boy’s nanny, who had disappeared with him early morning on Thursday, in the police reports.

“The victim had 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 the search and rescue operation around its area of responsibility.

The efforts to recover the boy and his nanny later widened in scope, with the participation of other police units in Zamboanga del Norte, Lanao del Norte and Misamis Occidental. Julie Alipala and Richel Umel, Inquirer Mindanao