Mum charged over alleged Culcairn school abduction after boy found 600km away

A woman has been arrested for allegedly taking her son 600km away from the small town school he disappeared from this week.

A woman has been charged with abducting a boy who went missing from a school in NSW’s Riverina region on Tuesday afternoon after police found him more than 600km away from the point he vanished.

The disappearance of the boy, 12, triggered a child abduction emergency alert as police scrambled to track him down.

He was last seen leaving his school at Culcairn about noon on March 9.

Officers believed he was in the company of his mother, 36, who was known to frequent the Wagga Wagga area.

Police will allege in court they found her with the boy in Lake Macquarie, near Newcastle, on Wednesday night after they had travelled about 630km.

The 12-year-old boy who was allegedly abducted. Picture: NSW Police

“Following an amber alert, the boy was located safe and well about 10pm yesterday (Wednesday, March 10) in Lake Macquarie,” NSW Police said in a statement.

“A 36-year-old woman was arrested and taken to Belmont police station where she was charged with take/detain person with intent to obtain advantage (DV).”

The woman was refused bail to appear before Newcastle Local Court on Thursday.