Three quizzed over kidnap after missing boy aged 10 found tied in flat near home

Detectives are questioning three men on suspicion of kidnap after a 10-year-old boy who vanished on a trip to the shops was allegedly discovered with his hands bound in an unoccupied flat nearby.

West Midlands Police launched an urgent investigation after the youngster from Oldbury, near Birmingham, was reported missing by a worried family member on Sunday morning after he failed to return home from the local shop.

Police officers and members of the public frantically searched the area for more than two hours, before a neighbour finally spotted the boy inside a property at about 11.30am. He was uninjured, and was returned to his family shortly after the ordeal.

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Local resident Jean Masih revealed how she saw the youngster at the window of the property before raising the alarm.

“His arms looked like they were bound, and he had a white sheet wrapped around his body,” she said. “I asked who was in the house and he said – ‘no-one, the man has gone and left me’.”

The cul-de-sac where the boy was found remained cordoned off yesterday as police continued to make inquiries.

Detectives have been granted extra time to quiz the suspects and are expected to interview the boy in the coming days to establish how he came to be at the flat.

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A police spokesman said: “Three men – a 49-year-old, a 30-year-old and a 48-year-old – all from the local area, have been arrested on suspicion of kidnap and are currently being questioned by detectives.

“We are working closely with the family and local community.”

A spokeswoman from Adullam Homes Housing Association, which owns the house where the boy was found, described the incident as “shocking and heinous”.

She said: “Everyone who is involved within the organisation is shocked and appalled by the incident that took place on Sunday.”