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Missing 7-year-old returns home
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By PAT GROSSMITH
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff
Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009
MANCHESTER – A 6 1/2-hour search for a missing 7-year-old child ended happily this morning when the boy, accompanied by a woman he knew, returned to his home at the Elmwood Housing Development off South Elm St.
"It was the ending we were hoping for," said Sgt. Kristen Taylor.
Police had gone door-to-door in the neighborhood searching for Emmaluile Sayle for more than six hours. Taylor said no one answered the door at the apartment where he had spent the night.
About 6:30 a.m., Emmaluile, accompanied by a woman he knew - Taylor did not know if it was his aunt or a family friend - arrived home.
He had last been seen about 8 p.m. Monday leaving his uncle's home in the same housing development.
Taylor said the mother reported him missing about midnight and an hour later about 15 officers were going door-to-door in the O'Malley and Ahern street area in an effort to locate him.
The mother believed her son was at his uncle's and did not realize he was missing until hours later, according to Taylor. She explained the family is from Liberia and it is not uncommon for the children to stay at a relative's or a friend's home.
Police went door-to-door trying to find the child while Manchester Fire Department personnel used thermal imaging equipment to search for Emmaluile on the playground and in the woods near the housing development.
Officers also searched a building owned by the Manchester Housing and Redevelopment Authority and the Bishop Leo O'Neil Center on nearby South Elm Street.
Taylor said police treated the case as one of a missing juvenile and thought it was possible he could be at the home of a friend or relative who was unaware of the search for him. That turned out to be the case.
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YOUR COMMENTS
I'm amazed at this statement: "When you live in the USA do as we do not what your culture is!!!" as Sherry from Manchester said. Perhaps Sherry, you may want to have a better command of the English language before you post something on this forum. I'm not sure which language you're speaking.
- Nicholas, Manchester, NH
I agree shouldn't this child have been in bed at 8:00 or at least home. Can't believe the woman he was with didn't let the mother know. When you live in the USA do as we do not what your culture is!!!
- Sherry, Manchester
Why shouldn't the mother get fined? Police wasted their time for her irresponsibility. When a search rescue goes out for lost hikers, guess who gets the bill for their time? The hikers do. If the fire dept. gets called out and it's not a real call, they bill the people/place they went to for their time.
- Roger, Manchester
Well, Savannah, the thing is if my child ever disappeared, I'd go in a panic mode, and not wait 4 hours to call the police, this child disappeared at night and the mother waited till midnight to call the cops. big difference here than loosing a kid at the mall
- Nicole, Manchester
Sounds to me like the uncle is to blame for not letting the mother know that the child left his home and perhaps for not knowing where he was going or who he was with. I agree that people are much too lax about letting kids go around unsupervised, but in this case he was in the uncle's care from what the story says.
- Sue, Chesterfield
A 7 year old and the mother doesn't know where her child is at all times? Any parent that cannot keep track of their kids should not have kids period! Until the age of 13 a child should not be left unsupervised at any time and should not be free to roam as this one did.
- Rob, Manchester
Something is not adding up here.
- sally, candia, nh
Fining the mother is not going to solve anything. Actually, it would make it worse. You fine her for the fees associated with the search and of course, she can't pay it. What do you think that one more bill/problem on top of many others is going to do? It's going to take up more of her thoughts, time and emotion. People are so quick to judge.. think about if you've ever misplaced your child/ren who go silent the moment they find a hiding place. Ever had that moment of panic because you turned around and they were gone? Maybe in a store where an employee helped you..should you be responsible for paying that employee's over-time because they helped you look for your child? No, because they were just doing their job. Same thing with the police in this search. They were called upon for a frightening ordeal and they performed their jobs just as they were supposed to.
All-in-all, I'm glad the boy was foung safe and I just wish society as a whole wouldn't be so negative and judgemental.
- Savannah, Manchester
I agree they should fine the mother, maybe that would get her to realize how important it is to actually watch your children!
- Tammy, Manchester
I happen to live in a part of town with a rather large "ethnic" population. The alley is constantly full of trash, broken and smashed furniture, glass, car parts and tires and old televison sets. The children who live around me think its great fun to smash anything breakable and strew it all over the alley. Where are their parents? Who knows? The moved here and let their kids run around like animals. Calls to the police havent done much as they are far to busy with other more serious isssues. Its time for someone in charge to step up and do something. And if these people cant control their kids or at least know where they are,,,then maybe they shouldnt have kids! These kids have even gone so far as to throw rocks at my vehicle until they broke the windshield. One of my neighbors saw it happen....but calls to the police resulted in a 3+ hour wait for them to make the 2 block trip to investigate....and guess who paid for a new windshield? It certainly wasn't the parents of these "poor, deprived innocents"!
- Daniel Clark, Manchester
I am very glad to hear that the child was ok. Having said that I think that his parents/caretakers need to be brought up on neglect charges. There is no reason at all for a child of that age to be outside unsupervised at that time of night (on a school night no less). Further more given the area that child should never be unsupervised outside. It's almost as if the Mother was hoping something would happen. Lazy parents are just unacceptable.
- Marie, Moultonborough
This is wrong. This kid should have been at home in bed. These people should keep a better eye on their child.
- Christine, Hollis
I love how American BORN US citizens on the housing list get bumped for the immigrants.
There is a new federal law that says US Citizens have 1st priority to public housing. If you are on the list and have been bumped Make it be known you want birth certificates checked of current tenants and waiting lists.
- Lisa, Manchester
What a waste of tax dollars. I think this Mother should be handed a hefty fine for not monitoring this 7 year old. The streets are not here as playgrounds, people need to stop sending their kids out there just to get them out the house. And then wonder where they are when it has been dark for 3 hours already. I see young kids from dawn to dusk outside and then you here of attempted abductions and children being struck by vehicles. Parents need to take responsibility for the children they have brought into this world. Stop relying on others. MONITOR your children. Prevent tragic endings, this could have been one.
- KACY, Manchester
Talk about irresponsibility! Who in the right mind lets their young kids out in the dark at that time?!
- Tom, Manchester
I'm glad that Manchester has an immigrant population, but our new friends need to realize that they are not in their home countries anymore. They need to adapt to our culture and take greater responsibility for their kids.
- Tony, Manchester
Think the weirdest thing is that the person that brought him back hadn't been contacted or made contact when the boy went missing! Something seems amiss with that!
- s. smith, Colebrook
wierd
- jim, manchester
I don't understand the reasoning on why the mother didn't know where her kid was. First of all it was 8pm, shouldn't the kid be in bed? Also, she didn't know if he was at a family members house or a friends house? Didn't you call these people first? At the bare minimum wouldn't the kid have asked hey can I go to so&so's house? This whole thing is mindboggling!
- JB, Manchester
not everyone has a father that cares... not to say that this is the case for this little boy...
- Blah, milford nh
I was woken up at 3am by police knocking on my door searching for the child, seems in this complex alotta parents let their kids run wild..maybe this is a wake up call..Thankfully the boys safe
- kristen chase, manchester
Its amazing that you didn't hear anything about the boys father out looking for his son. !!!
- john H., manchester nh
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