ROSEBUD police are investigating a Rye school girl’s “missing couple of hours” on Monday last week.
The girl, 13, got off the Flinders Christian Community College bus at 3.40pm at the corner of Cain Rd and Pt Nepean Rd and started to walk home.
She later told Rosebud police that she noticed a white van with dark windows travelling beside her and then became aware of a stranger standing in front of her.
Detective Sergeant John Coburn, of Rosebud CIU, said the girl’s next recollection was waking up on the beach near the lighthouse at McCrae, from where she called her mother at 7pm. She later received a medical examination.
“The girl has no idea how she got there,” he said. “She feels she may have been taken in the van but she has no recollection of it. Fortunately she has no injuries and is well.”
Parents of students at the college were notified of the girl’s disappearance on Tuesday. Principal Nick Haines said the student was “approached and was taken by a person(s) in a vehicle and was found several hours later”.
He described it as a “serious incident of significant concern” for parents.
“This incident highlights the concern the college and community have for student safety when travelling to and from school. I strongly urge students to walk to and from the bus in the company of another student or adult and exercise great caution when approached by strangers.”
He said the college was “relieved and extremely thankful that the girl is safe at home”.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000 or Rosebud CIU 5986 0444.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 11 August 2015
