18boysreportedmissing

LUOHU police have established a special task force to investigate the disappearance of 18 boys, ranging from 2 to 5 years old, over the past 12 months, the Daily Sunshine reported Sunday.

Most of the disappearances were not immediately reported, police said. The parents, all migrants, were afraid to report as they were afraid that the kidnappers may hurt the children, police said.

The disappearances came to light when a Daily Sunshine reader called the newspaper to say he had found about 20 wanted advertisements for missing boys in the Caopu area.

Zhan Erxi, 4, went missing Jan. 17, 2003. His 5-year-old brother said two youths had enticed Zhan away with candy.

Chen Genghao, 4, disappeared June 20. His mother said she could not find her son when she returned from a supermarket. She had left the boy to play alone outside.

Liu Chengliang, 4, went missing Sept. 9. His 8-year-old sister said the boy was taken away by a teenager. The desperate parents had tried every available means to find their boys, the newspaper said. Police said the kidnappers could belong to the same gang as the targets were all children of migrants, who were always busy and sometimes neglected their children.

Most of the disappearances had similarities. The kidnappers would send a boy, about 10 years old, to win the trust of the children and then lead them away.

Police advised migrants in the area to safeguard their children and report immediately anything suspicious to the task force on 2550-2110. (Shao Jingfeng)