The rescue of the 6-year-old St Thomas More Preparatory School student came hours after she was abducted on Tuesday. An audio recording reportedly from the wife of Clarendon councillor Scean Barnswell has now provided a vivid account of those tense moments.
According to the recording, the couple and a child named Alison had been driving along Anderson Drive when Barnswell mentioned that a young girl had gone missing from the school he once attended. The female’s voice in the recording shared that the news immediately shifted the atmosphere in the vehicle.
Moments later, they encountered a buildup of traffic and spotted police officers. Barnswell reportedly stopped to ask if they were searching for the missing child, and the officers confirmed they were.
The ordeal began earlier that afternoon when the man entered the St Thomas More Preparatory School compound after dismissal and walked off with the child. Her parent discovered she was missing only after arriving and finding her belongings still at the school, which led police to issue a high alert.
The couple continued down the Bustamante Highway, and that was when everything changed. The councillor’s wife said they noticed a little girl in a blue uniform walking with a man. Something about the scene stood out. She asked her husband to send her the photo of the missing child that had been circulating in their community group. After zooming in on the picture, she urged him to turn around.
They circled back and drove up closer. She said that although the child’s hairstyle looked slightly different from the photograph, she insisted on seeing the little girl’s face. When they pulled up again, she said she immediately realised it was the child. Barnswell first confronted the man at the window, asking who the child was to him. The man did not respond and began walking faster, gripping the girl’s hand tightly.
Barnswell stopped the vehicle in the road, jumped out and confronted the man again. His wife also exited the car, but not before urging Allison to remain seated. She said she feared the man would harm her husband, so she rushed over to them. During the confrontation, the abducted 6-year-old girl found the courage to speak. “He’s taking me away,” she cried while her abductor still held her hand.
Barnswell’s wife called to the girl, urging her to run to her. When the man refused to release her, the councillor forcibly pulled her away. The child rushed into the woman’s arms before being placed safely inside their vehicle. The councillor’s wife said she immediately began praying for the child and her family as the girl cried.
During those moments, the child quietly explained that the man had taken her through the bushes after removing her from the school compound. “He let me walk in the bush so that I am not seen,” the wife recounted her saying. The little girl also shared that he had taken her tie and watch and hidden them.
Commuters and residents soon gathered, calling the police, who arrived shortly after. The councillor’s wife said she remained with the child until officers instructed her to bring the girl forward so she could receive medical attention.
