Missing girl has been found after ‘despicable’ group claimed responsibility for kidnapping: Police
A five-year-old who was allegedly abducted by a group known to NT police has been found.
A missing five-year-old has been found after being allegedly abducted by who police described as a group peddling “ideologies and false information”.
Grace Hughes went missing on Sunday, August 7, when she went missing from the Berrimah area in the Northern Territory.
The five-year-old was allegedly taken without permission by her mother Laura Hinks, also known as Laura Bolt Bolt, during a supervised parental visit in Darwin, police allege.
The pair had not been seen since.
Following her return, police said Grace was receiving a medical check but is “physically in good health”.
Her mother is currently assisting police with their inquiries.
A dedicated multi-agency task force had been set up to find the little girl, with NT Police Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Jon Beer calling out the “despicable” group which claimed responsibility for the abduction.
Sergeant Beer said the group which claimed to have abducted Grace is peddling ideologies and false information which has no regard for the mental wellbeing of a young child.
He has not named the group or revealed further details on who they might be.
“The conduct of this group is despicable,” he said.
Prior to the girl’s return, police said they’d be drawing on the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission to track down her captors.
“Police will use every power available to them to locate Grace,” Senior Sergeant Beer said.
“Anyone who is found to have harboured those who abducted Grace will face significant charges.”
Last weekend, a different 50-year-old woman was charged over the alleged abduction.
She appeared in court in Darwin on Monday on one count of abducting a child under 16 and one count of attempting to abduct a child under 16.
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