German cleared in hunt for missing tsunami boy
A German man sought following the disappearance of a 12-year-old Swedish tsunami victim in Thailand has been cleared after being interviewed by police.
A child matching the description of the Swedish boy went missing from a hospital in southern Thailand a day after the tsunami struck.
His family fears he may have been kidnapped after being last seen with an unidentified foreign man leaving the hospital.
German Stephan Kaley went to a police station after hearing reports that a boy matching the description of 12-year-old Kristian Walker may have been snatched from a hospital, police Sergeant Vichai Boonruen said.
Vichai said police had confirmed Kaley’s account that he helped reunite two German boys with their parents and a Swedish youth with his mother.
“We have ruled out the theory that this man kidnapped anyone,” Vichai said.
Kristian and his mother have been missing since the tsunami hit Thailand. His grandfather, American Daniel Walker, had been going around with photos of Kristian, and doctors at Taimuang hospital in badly hit Phang Nga province said they had seen a boy who looked like him come in for treatment for water in his ears.
Lieutenant Colonel Preecha Klaewthanong, chief investigator of the case, said Kaley lives not far from the hospital and apparently had been helping out during the tragedy.
“He gave us full cooperation to clear up all the confusion, so we have no right to charge or detain him,” Preecha said.
Kristian had been on holiday with his mother Madeleine, who is still missing, along with bother David, 14, and sister Anna, seven, who were found and are back home in Sweden.
Two Swedish police officers have been assisting in the investigation.
In the wake of the devastating tsunami, there have been unconfirmed reports of dozens of orphaned children being taken by unidentified people, some of them possibly child traffickers.
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