The heartbreaking moment an eight-year-old girl holds onto detectives’ hands after being rescued from her alleged kidnapper has been revealed.
The little girl was reportedly taken by her 44-year-old father from a Department of Child Safety unit in Maroochydore, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, on Thursday.
The man allegedly lured his daughter into his blue Toyota Hilux before driving away from the government building for several hours.
The pair were chased by police to a rural estate in Eerwah Vale, with a helicopter, bearcats and tactical officers arriving on the scene at 6pm.
After a tense standoff, the man eventually released his daughter, who was captured holding the hands of two detectives as they walked down a dirt road.
“The girls are safe…probably severely traumatized,” a female detective is heard saying.
Moments later, her father is seen walking up the same road in handcuffs.
He was charged with stealing children and unlawfully entering or remaining in a home or garden.
The heartbreaking moment an eight-year-old girl holds the hands of detectives tightly after being rescued from her alleged kidnapper, her father, has been revealed
The 44-year-old man was led in handcuffs along the same dirt road a short time later
He appeared before the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Friday where he was refused bail.
The man will appear in court again in 2025.
It comes after police issued a national Amber Alert on Thursday, which also released a photo of the eight-year-old and a dark blue Hilux.
The little girl was found “safe and sound” at a regional property at 6 p.m., police said in a statement on Thursday.
“The police would like to thank the public and the media for their assistance,” it said.
Detective Acting Inspector Wiggins previously described the alleged kidnapping as ‘forceful’, but there was no evidence the man was armed.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli was asked by reporters on Friday how the girl was taken from under the noses of staff at the government facility.
“It needs to be looked at, and I make it clear that the matter is now before the court,” Mr Crisafulli said.