Paphos police stand down in missing child scare

Police in Paphos are filing charges against a father following a missing child scare, but sources say he was the one who reported the girl missing after coming back from a trip to the hospital for alcohol-related treatment.

Local media said a 40-year-old male had told police on Wednesday very early in the morning, around 1:30am, that his daughter had gone missing.

A day earlier, the father, described as a Polish national, had been transported to the Emergency Room at Paphos General Hospital, with reports saying he was in a state of intoxication. After refusing to leave the hospital, according to local media, a police patrol car transported the man to his home.

But conflicting reports said the 9-year-old girl, who was said to be living with her dad, was also reported as missing by other individuals, possibly friends and acquaintances who went to her house Tuesday afternoon and realized she was not there.

Reports also said a neighbor later came forward Wednesday morning, around 6am, and told the father that his daughter had spent the night with them next door.

Police sources told Knews the father was expected to be charged on Wednesday but declined to specify the charges, citing family and privacy protocols.

Social Services have been notified while Knews has been told the father most likely could be facing a single charge of abandonment of a minor under the age of 16, according to unofficial statements. 

His neighbors insist they had told the girl’s father that the she was going to spend the entire night with them.