Hunt on for suspect in kidnapping of 8-year-old girl in Quezon

MANILA, Philippines—Authorities are hunting down a man who allegedly kidnapped an eight- year-old girl from her home in Quezon province last week, police said Thursday.

Police Officer 1 Nona Rose Coronacion said the mother of the victim reported to authorities Wednesday that a man she identified as Richard Alpuerto Bolante, 21, of Mauban, Quezon, forcibly took her daughter who was then sleeping inside their house in Barangay (village) Bilcao in Sampaloc, Quezon, with an uncle and several younger brothers around 10:30 p.m. on March 17.

She said the suspect was also identified by a certain Joseph Cambal who claimed to have seen the suspect carrying the victim through the villages of Bilucao and Banot, both in Sampaloc town, on board a tricycle headed for Mauban town.

Kidnapping charge against the suspect was being prepared for filing in court, according to Coronacion.—Jamie Marie Elona