Reunited at last!
7-y-o wanted helicopters to search for baby brother
WHEN HE got the news that his newborn brother had been abducted from the Victoria Jubilee maternity hospital in downtown Kingston a month ago, seven-year-old Rudean Hutton, though plunged into sadness, sought to play detective and crack the case.
Baby Sae’breon was reunited with his family yesterday after an abduction saga that gripped the nation and prompted a multidimensional investigation that ended dramatically when the suspect was nabbed while trying to register the child’s birth.
“It means a lot to me that my brother has been returned. It’s a long time I wanted a brother. Long time!” exclaimed Rudean at the Denham Town Police Station, where the month-old child was officially handed over to the family by Rosalee Gage-Grey, chief executive officer of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency.
“I felt so sad when they took him away. I was just thinking all the time about finding my brother. I told my father some things the security forces could do. I told my father to tell the security forces to send out the helicopters,” he recalled.
Father Sinclair Hutton, 46, was ecstatic at the sight of his son for the very first time.
“I am feeling great, man!” he said yesterday after cuddling Sae’breon at the police station.
Suzett Whyte, the child’s mother, was more reserved.
“I cried for one whole month, so no need to cry now,” the 41-yearold told The Gleaner.
The police said that their investigations had been fruitless and it seemed that the case was cold until they were alerted by staff at the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) at Twickenham Park, St Catherine.
“I thank the entities that supported the investigation. At one point, we thought we were at a dead end, but the process came alive when the suspect aroused the suspicion of the RGD,” said Howard Chambers, superintendent in charge of the west Kingston police.“We are even looking wider to see if there is a possibility of organised crime in terms of a baby-stealing ring in the country. Some information we got would imply there are more players.”
The superintendent revealed that the suspect, who is due to face an identification parade, could face charges ranging from child stealing to human trafficking.
He urged wannabe abductors to desist from snatching babies. “Stealing babies is not a good idea. Take it out of your minds,” he said.
Sae’breon was abducted on January 9, hours after his mother had given birth. The child turned up at the RGD in the arms of a woman claiming to be his mother and trying to register his birth on Tuesday. The suspect was held, and DNA tests confirmed he was Whyte’s child.