Police in Gran Canaria have located a nine year old boy who was stolen by his mother, a drug addict, from a hospital in 2002 to avoid his being taken into care as had happened with three other children belonging to the woman.
At the same time, a fifth son has been located. Police had no knowledge of his existence until now.
Four people, all from the same family, have been detained in connection with the case. The detainees are the mother of the children, Macarena A.Q., and three members of her family, Dolores H.C., aged 53 years, Angélica C.C., aged 40 years and Pedro C.G., aged 55 years. The family members are accused of helping the mother to abduct her son and helping to hide him from the authorities for the past nine years.
Macarena A.Q., a drug addict, stole her son from the Hospital Materno Infantil in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, shortly after his birth on April 22nd 2002 to avoid his being taken into care by Social Services as had been the case with three previous children.
Macarena spent time in prison after admitting in a press interview to having taken the boy and refusing to give his whereabouts, saying she would never give him up. Police failed to locate the boy but the investigation remained open.
The boy was found at the mother’s home. However, until recently, this had not been his place of residence. He had been in the care of various relatives over the years due to the mother’s drug problems and her time in jail.
The fifth son, now twelve years old, came as a complete surprise to the police. He has now also been taken into care by the authorities.