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Woman faces court charged with child abduction as Darwin girl Grace Hughes, 5, and mother remain missing

Woman faces court charged with child abduction as Darwin girl Grace Hughes, 5, and mother remain missing

A woman charged with child abduction in relation to the disappearance of five-year-old Grace Hughes has faced court, as police continue to search for the Darwin girl.

Juliet Oldroyd, 50, was charged yesterday with one count of abducting a child under 16 and one count of attempting to abduct a child under 16.

She was interviewed at a property in Anula last week, with police saying she was later arrested for allegedly refusing to provide information about Grace and her mother’s whereabouts.

Police allege Grace was taken without permission by her mother Laura Hinks, also known as Laura Bolt, during a supervised parental visit on the afternoon of August 7.

During her first court appearance today, Ms Oldroyd told Judge Thomasin Opie she would not be seeking legal aid, but had no current representation other than her husband, Craig Oldroyd.

A woman and a young girl smile into the camera. The photo is in black and white.
Laura Hinks and her daughter Grace Hughes remain missing. (Supplied: NT Police)

Mr Oldroyd told the court he did not have any legal qualifications, but later told media outside court that he had contacted an “international human rights lawyer”.

The accused was supported in court by a group of people who stood and applauded after she was escorted back to the cells when the case was adjourned.

Judge Opie had to instruct members of the public in the courtroom to sit down and “show courtesy to allow the court to proceed uninterrupted.”

A man with a beard and wearing a tie holds a bundle of papers and speaks into two microphones.
Juliet Oldroyd’s husband Craig Oldroyd said he will act on behalf of his wife in court. (ABC News: Melissa Mackay)

Search for Grace continues

A young girl of age five smiles into the camera.
Police are appealing for public information to find Grace. (Supplied: NT Police)

Police said in a statement yesterday they were using “all resources necessary” to find Grace, who has now been missing for more than a week.

They also said Grace and her mother may have traveled interstate.

Anyone with information on the pair’s whereabouts are being urged to contact police.

Ms Oldroyd’s matter will return to court on August 22.

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Categories
Australia

NT Police charge 50-year-old Darwin woman over disappearance of five-year-old Grace Hughes

A young girl of age five smiles into the camera.

Northern Territory Police have charged a 50-year-old woman with child abduction over the disappearance of five-year-old Grace Hughes from the Darwin suburb of Berrimah last weekend.

Her 34-year-old mother Laura Hinks, who is also known as Laura Bolt, is also missing.

Police say Grace was taken without permission by her mother during a supervised parental visit at 1pm last Sunday.

Detective Superintendent Kirsten Engels said police were “throwing every resource we have into this investigation, we will continue to do so until we locate Grace.”

“Our primary concern is the safety and wellbeing of Grace, knowing that this would’ve been a very traumatic event, being removed from this meeting, and separated from her siblings,” Detective Superintendent Engels said.

50-year-old woman to face court on Monday

During their investigation, police interviewed a 50-year-old woman at a property in Anula and later arrested her for allegedly refusing to give information about Grace and her mother’s whereabouts.

She was charged with one count of abducting a child under 16 and one count of attempting to abduct a child under 16.

“We know that some effort is being put into hiding Grace, and that it would be very frightening for a five-year-old child,” Detective Superintendent Engels said.

The woman was ordered in custody and will face court on Monday.

“Whatever issues that are preventing her return, should and could be dealt with in appropriate ways,” Detective Superintendent Engels said.

“Taking Grace in this manner is not appropriate and we know that there will be people in the community that will be able to assist us.”

“They will know where Grace is, and they’ll be able to help us.”

Police say it is possible Laura and Grace could now be interstate and are appealing for anyone with information to contact 131 444.

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Categories
Australia

Police on the hunt for man who allegedly grabbed student at Glenelg Primary School

play equipment and sign of a school with greenery inside a fence that has print ads on it

SA Police say “significant” police resources have been deployed near a school in Adelaide’s west following an alleged incident where a student was grabbed by a man.

The incident at Glenelg Primary School was reported to police about 10am on Tuesday.

Police say a man approached a female student on the first floor of the school’s main building, grabbed her right wrist and pulled her down the stairs.

The girl was able to pull away from his grip before the man ran away.

The man is described as being about 180cm tall, bald and was wearing a knee-length light blue shirt, black pants, a black face mask and carrying a beanie.

The student told detectives the man had purple nail polish on one thumb and was wearing a distinctive black ring with bright dots.

The suspect was also wearing a black twisted bracelet on his wrist as well as two earrings on one of his ears.

A man in police uniform speaking into microphones at a reading
Assistant Police Commissioner Scott Duval has dismissed incorrect information shared about the incident.(ABC News: Ethan Rix)

Assistant Police Commissioner Scott Duval said detectives have spoken with staff and students and viewed security footage in the vicinity, but have not found any witnesses.

“So, someone who is not meant to be there, and in this case approaching a student, is really concerning,” he said.

“We have had significant police deployment in the area around the school. The amount of deployment to this investigation is really akin to the type of seriousness we put in it.

“The involvement of the police has not wanted and will not want until we get to a point [where] we’ve exhausted all our investigation, or hopefully arrested the person responsible for this incident.”

The student was not injured during the incident.

A protective security car outside school grounds
Security at Glenelg Primary School after a man allegedly trespassed and grabbed a girl.(ABC News: Chris McLoughlin)

Assistant Commissioner Duval said reports that the man was in the female toilets at the school and chased students were incorrect and “unhelpful.”

“There have been reports of this man going into the female student toilets — I can categorically say that is incorrect,” Assistant Commissioner Duval said.

“There have been other reports that this man chased the student, and again, I say that is not true.

“There were reports that other students, and perhaps staff, witnessed this incident and again I say those reports are untrue and in many respects are not helpful to this investigation.”

He urged anyone who witnessed the incident or may have seen a man matching this description in the area to contact Crime Stoppers.

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Categories
US

Manhunt over bloodied NJ woman sparked by misunderstanding

Manhunt over bloodied NJ woman sparked by misunderstanding

A nationwide manhunt over a bloody, thought-to-be-abducted woman in New Jersey was sparked by an accident and a bizarre misunderstanding, police told The Post Friday.

The unnamed woman — who was spotted screaming and bleeding inside a tractor-trailer on Route 130 Wednesday — was hurt when her husband hit the brakes to avoid an accident, South Brunswick Police Deputy Chief Jim Ryan said.

The woman, who was standing between the cab and the sleeper of the rig, flew forward and was left bleeding and screaming, he said.

But a worker from a nearby car rental company who did not see the big rig stop short, saw the woman bleeding and thought he might be witnessing a kidnapping and called police, Ryan said.

“He’s standing in a parking lot and he hears someone yell ‘help,’” said Ryan, adding the witness called police.

The mix-up triggered a multi-agency search for the truck and, after media reported the incident, at least 100 calls about possible sightings from Texas to California, Ryan said.

According to police, the nationwide manhunt for a though-to-be-abducted woman in New Jersey was due to a misunderstanding.
According to police, the nationwide manhunt for a though-to-be-abducted woman in New Jersey was due to a misunderstanding.
South Brunswick Police Department

Police used surveillance footage, including from local businesses, along with tips to track down the 50-something married couple and determine there was no foul play Thursday, Ryan said.

“It’s amazing what people can do if they mobilize,” he said. “I’m glad the outcome was positive.”

Despite the weird mix up, he said the witness ultimately did the right thing by reporting the woman in distress.

“He actually saw it accurately, and made some great observations,” Ryan said.

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Categories
US

Woman seen yelling in truck on New Jersey highway found safe

Woman seen yelling in truck on New Jersey highway found safe

A bloodied woman who was spotted screaming for help inside the cab of a big rig on a New Jersey highway Wednesday was found safe by police who are now investigating the incident.

South Brunswick Police announced Thursday evening that they have found the woman in question as well as the truck driver in Woodbridge and said the two know each other.

A witness had spotted the woman, who appeared to be bleeding from her face and yelling for help from the cab of a white tractor-trailer parked on the side of Route 130 a day earlier. She tried to jump out of the cab, but was pulled back in by the driver who then sped off down Route 130.

The alarming report sparked a massive, multi-agency search effort by the South Brunswick PD and federal and state law enforcement.

Police said the incident was not a stranger abduction as many had first speculated, NBC4 reported. The pair were familiar with one another and were found together. Both were brought in for police questioning.

The woman got home safe but had suffered injuries — to what extent is unknown, according to the outlet.

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Categories
US

South Brunswick abduction: Search for truck, yelling woman seen in video found to be misunderstanding

South Brunswick abduction: Search for truck, yelling woman seen in video found to be misunderstanding

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ (WABC) — An all-out search to find a big rig truck and its driver, believed to be involved in a possible abduction of a woman in New Jersey, turned out to be a big misunderstanding.

The search began when South Brunswick Police say they responded to Route 130 near Dayton Toyota on Wednesday, after receiving a report of a woman seen yelling for help inside a white tractor-trailer cab around 2 pm

A witness told police they saw a woman bleeding from her face and a male truck driver pulling her back into the cab as it headed to Route 130 south and then got off at the Ridge Road exit.

Detectives recovered video Wednesday that showed the tractor-trailer cab on Route 130.

“You look at a video like this and the hair starts to stand up on the back of your neck a little bit and say, you know what this is something, we really gotta look into this,” South Brunswick Det. Sgt. Timothy Hoover said.

But what many feared as a kidnapping or incident of domestic violence, turned out to be a huge misunderstanding.

The story was so compelling that cops got tips from across the country, but the break in the case came from Gabrielli Truck Sales, a truck parts store located on Route 130 near where the incident took place.

Workers thought the description of the man and woman sounded familiar, so they checked their video. Turns out, the pair had bought a battery there minutes before the incident. The video allowed detectives to identify the truck as well as the woman.

“There’s a lot of truck out there, there’s a lotta trucks,” said John Efthimiades of Gabrielli Truck Sales. “The initial video they couldn’t read the logo. So they had another video when they figured out they were here and they got a better shot of the truck.”

After a more than 24-hour search, detectives located the truck and the man and woman seen in the video. The were found in Woodbridge just after 5 pm on Thursday.

Shortly after, the man and woman agreed to come to police headquarters, where the true series of events came to light.

It was determined by South Brunswick Police that the woman had fallen and hit her head while standing in the moving truck, causing severe bleeding.

The truck stopped abruptly and the woman called out for help, but the driver pulled her back in and rushed off to get to a hospital.

They instead stopped at a warehouse where they had friends and put pressure on the wound and stopped the bleeding.

Police determined this through selfies and text messages sent by the woman during the order. The man and woman never had any idea they were the subject of a massive search, that spanned locations in Middlesex and Union counties.

“Too often in our profession outcomes are sad,” said Deputy Chief James Ryan of the South Brunswick Police Department. “The fact that she’s safe, the fact that we have all the parties here, we’ll take success when we can.”

Authorities say they made significant progress in the investigation after receiving several pieces of video and tips from the community which helped police build out a timeline of events leading up to and after the incident.

In the end, the incident turned out not to be criminal at all, but cops said that it shows the system works.

“All these different partners came together and this shows collectively if we rally around an issue we can make a positive outcome,” Ryan said.

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Categories
US

Bleeding woman spotted screaming inside semi-truck on NJ highway

Bleeding woman spotted screaming inside semi-truck on NJ highway

A driver spotted a bloodied woman screaming for help inside the cab of a tractor-trailer on a Jersey highway Wednesday in a disturbing scene straight out of a horror movie.

Officers are now searching for the woman who the witness said was bleeding from her face inside a white semi-truck pulled over to the side of Route 130 near Dayton Toyota, South Brunswick Police said.

The passerby said the woman called out for help before the male truck driver pulled her back into the cab and drove away around 2 pm The truck turned off Route 130 at the Ridge Road exit.

The woman is believed to be white or Hispanic and in her 20s. According to the witness description, she has long brown hair and was wearing a brown flannel shirt.

The driver is a white older man who is bald and has a white beard. He was wearing a blue shirt at the time of the incident, police said.

Surveillance video released by police shows the truck briefly stopped along Route 130 before it drives off.

Anyone with information regarding the truck, woman or driver was asked to call South Brunswick Police at 732-329-4646.

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