Cops called in for missing ball
The Whanganui boy who asked police to help find his lost ball is keeping a close eye on his new prized possession.
Te Kahu Hall, 6, lost his beloved red ball two weeks ago when it rolled onto the road near his house.
He then watched a woman in a silver car stop and take the ball.
Dismayed, Te Kahu decided to take matters into his own hands, making posters and taking them to the Whanganui Police Station.
The young lad’s efforts to become reunited with his ball gained attention when the Central District’s Police shared his plight on Facebook this week.
He only had the ball for a few days after buying it with money he got from the tooth fairy. He even added his own touches to the ball.
‘‘I drew taniwha and koru and my dad’s name on it,’’ he said.
While the police continued their search, they bought Te Kahu a new green ball to play with, and Te Kahu couldn’t be more chuffed with it.
‘‘I like kicking it, [but] I don’t want to get it dirty.’’
His mum Kapitorina Hall said Te Kahu was very protective of his new ball.
‘‘He just carries it around day and night.’’
Te Kahu’s dad Te Rawi Karamaene said it was important to show his children the positive side of police.
‘‘It was cool, [the police] treated him seriously.
‘‘We just took him in there to hang the poster up and they asked him to make a formal complaint.’’
Karamaene said his son came up with the idea to make posters.
‘‘He said, ‘alright, I’m going to write a poster’. He had three or four. He gave me one, he gave his mum one.’’
Te Kahu said he hoped the poster would help the police.
‘‘I thought that if I gave it to the police, they would look for it.’’
But his parents say they never expected the response they got.
‘‘We were quite overwhelmed with the response,’’ Hall said.
‘‘We had offers of money, offers of new balls, second hand balls.’’
She and her son had been playing outside with the original red ball just moments before it was lost.
‘‘I spent 40 minutes playing outside.
‘‘I just went inside for a few minutes to see his brother and I heard him yell ‘mum!’’’
Only a few months earlier Te Kahu’s bike was taken from their backyard.
Despite that Hall said she felt they lived in a good community.
‘‘We just have that trust in everyone.’’
Te Kahu thanked the police for their help.
‘‘They were nice.’’