Police: Swedish boy not kidnapped (http://edition.cnn.com)

Thursday, January 6, 2005 Posted: 0246 GMT (1046 HKT)

CNN) -- A missing 12-year-old Swedish boy was not kidnapped from a Thai hospital as reports suggested, but he remains among the hundreds of Swedes missing from the tsunami disaster of southern Asia, Swedish and Thai police have said.

The case of Kristian Walker garnered international attention after reports suggested an unknown man left a Thai hospital with the boy, raising fears he might have been snatched by a child trafficker.

A spokeswoman for the Swedish national police, which was assisting Thai police in the investigation, said authorities determined that the boy who left the hospital was not Kristian and that it appears that boy left the hospital legitimately.

"That boy was not Kristian Walker," the police spokeswoman said Wednesday.

It is now believed Kristian never checked into the hospital and that he remains missing along with his mother and 700 other Swedes. "He's still missing," the spokeswoman said. "It's not a crime as we know it."

Jan Eliasson, the Swedish ambassador to the United States, told CNN, "The latest I hear is that the Thai authorities think it is a matter of mistaken identity."

Kristian's grandfather had earlier said reports that the boy could have been kidnapped had given him hope that his grandson is still alive.

"Well, I tell you, I don't know that he's been kidnapped," said Daniel Walker, who is in Thailand helping search for Kristian. "I should say I'm hoping he's been kidnapped as opposed to having been killed initially. Because if he's been kidnapped, there's a possibility that he's alive."

The grandfather said Thai doctors had told him they recognized photographs of Kristian. Thailand's health ministry now says there are no records of him ever being treated at any hospital.

A team of about 20 Swedish police are in Thailand helping local police investigate the 702 missing Swede cases. About six of the police were focusing on Kristian's case.

The initial reports of Kristian possibly being taken from the hospital caught the attention of Interpol, and a group of volunteers was set up to help find missing children amid fears that pedophiles are exploiting the situation.

"There are rumors of gangs that are working around doing this kind of thing," one Swedish volunteer, Erik Liungmann said. "And we just want to do everything we can."