为追捕小东岳诱拐案的绑匪,张氏夫妇出2万,华人社区出1万5追加悬红给举报人,悬红金额目前已达8万5千加元。
警方不愿对张家如何筹得这一款项的问题发表评论。
请看以下Toronto Star 的详细英文报道。
Leaders in the Chinese community today presented the Toronto police with $35,000 in reward money to be offered for the safe return of Cecilia Zhang, the 9-year-old girl who was abducted more than a week ago.
The award is “supplementary” to the $50,000 that police Chief Julian Fantino announced this week, according to spokesperson Jim Muscat.
Asked if the total of $85,000 would be paid out upon the safe return of Cecilia, Muscat said he “couldn’t speculate” and that the decision would “have to be made later.”
He did emphasize that the $35,000 amount would be overseen and managed by the police.
Cecilia’s parents, Sherry Xu and Raymond Zhang, contributed $20,000 of the reward money offered yesterday, with the rest coming from members of the community. Police wouldn’t comment on how the Zhang family raised the money.
Muscat reiterated that the police are hopeful that Cecilia is still alive and reinforced the notion that there is a “strong indication” than at least two suspects are thought to have taken Cecilia from her home in North York in the middle of the night.
At the news conference at police headquarters, several members of the Chinese community spoke in Cantonese and Mandarin as they appealed to the abductors to return Cecilia safely.
Evidence uncovered at the scene of Cecilia’s abduction has police investigating the possibility of multiple suspects.
“Right now we’re keeping all of our avenues open, but the scene would indicate that there’s a good potential that there was more than one suspect involved in this abduction,” Det. Sgt. Dave Perry has told America’s Most Wanted.
In pre-recorded segments for the popular TV crime show, Perry – a lead investigator in the search – and Sgt. Jim Muscat, who serves as the police spokesman on the case, discuss the abduction of the gifted nine-year-old pupil.
“We would love whoever has Cecilia to call us tonight, to let us know where we can find her,” Muscat says in a clip from Saturday’s broadcast, segments of which were shown today.
Cecilia’s parents are also shown delivering a heartfelt message to their only child.
“Cecilia, we are hoping you can watch this show,” Raymond Zhang says with wife Sherry Xu by his side.
“Be strong, and we will do our best to get you back soon.”
In an interview with CP24, America’s Most Wanted host John Walsh says it’s crucial not to give up hope in the search for Cecilia.
“I’m praying that we find this little girl alive, just like Elizabeth Smart,” he said.
The show was thought to have played a role in the investigation of the Utah teen’s abduction after she was snatched from her bedroom in June 2002.
Four viewers recognized the girl’s suspected abductor when America’s Most Wanted ran a segment on her case in March. She was returned to her family shortly after those sightings.
“I never give up; it’s got so many similarities to the Elizabeth Smart case,” Walsh said of Cecilia’s disappearance.
With the search for Cecilia well into its second week, police were still trying to determine a motive for the abduction and had launched an aggressive poster campaign.
After two days of canvassing two areas in nearby Brampton where a couple of mysterious phone calls were apparently made to the home of the little girl, police shifted their efforts Wednesday to getting more than 1,700 flyers and posters in bus and subway stations.
The flyers and posters, in English and Chinese, feature a picture of a smiling Cecilia and her description — four-foot-11 and 70 pounds, with black hair and blonde highlights. They also emphasize the $50,000 police reward for the safe return of the girl to her family.
Cecilia was discovered missing from her Toronto home Oct. 20 when her mother went to wake her for school. A broken screen window at the rear of the two-storey home suggested forced entry, and police have ruled out a random abduction by a predator.
Instead, investigators have been probing the case as a possible kidnapping for profit.
Earlier this week, police canvassed patrons of a rural general store and a doughnut shop northwest of the city, where two calls were made to Cecilia’s home from pay phones on the morning of her disappearance.
The bizarre case attracted the attention of America’s Most Wanted, which sent a film crew Tuesday to Cecilia’s home to film an episode focusing on the search for the Grade 4 pupil.
The show has also posted a profile of Cecilia on its Web site.
Saturday night’s episode is expected to attract more than 10 million people in Canada, the United States and beyond.
Police hope the attention from a major international television show might help crack the case of the missing girl.
(CURTIS RUSH)