Police check for likely abductors

Press, 1 June 1989, Page 9

Police check for likely abductors

By

NEIL CLARKSON

Men considered capable of abduction were being checked by the police yesterday as they continued the hunt for clues to the disappearance of a Taita schoolgirl, Karla Cardno.

Detective Senior-Ser-geant John Marsden confirmed last evening that such inquiries were being carried out in the Hutt Valley area. The police were trying to establish the alibis or movements of those considered capable of abduction about the time Karla, aged 13, disappeared on Friday evening. A search by the Army and up to 150 volunteers has found no trace of Karla, who is thought to have been abducted while returning home by bicycle from the Taita shopping centre. The soldiers were not used yesterday. Police searchers combed the

wider Taita area and riverbanks. “We are checking some of the more secluded areas in the Hutt Valley,” said Detective Senior-Ser-geant Marsden. The police effort is also concentrating on trying to find a young Maori or Polynesian man seen talking to Karla in Taine Street, near the shops. The man, aged in his early 20s, was near Karla when she walked into a dairy and bought a drink. She rounded the corner and bought a newspaper at another shop. Soon after, she was seen running into a video games parlour, distressed and intent on hiding.

Karla was last seen cycling towards home about 7.05 p.m. The bicycle, which belonged to her brother, was found abandoned with the shopping about 25 minutes later, just 200 m from her home. The police have received numerous telephone calls after releasing an identikit of the man seen with Karla, including some suggesting names. “I believe that from the description, we should be able to locate him. We want to stress quite clearly that this man is not regarded as a suspect. He may have a perfectly innocent explanation,”

Detective Senior-Sergeant Marsden said.

The police were also looking into previous incidents in the Avalon and Taita areas in which children had been approached by strangers. “Although some of these incidents have been reported to the police, we are aware some have not,” he said.

“Some incidents have been discussed on talkback radio.”

He appealed to people who have not reported such approaches to come forward. The police, he said, still held hope of finding Karla alive, but fears for her safety were growing as time passed.