Ashya King, a 5-year-old UK boy with a brain tumor, was taken by his parents--Brett King and Naghemeh King--without the consent of doctors, according to reports.
The boy is being fed by a battery-operated feeding tube that will run out in the next 12 hours or so, officials said, reported The Telegraph.
“Time is running out” for the boy, Hampshire Constabulary was quoted as saying. The child was taken from Southampton General Hospital “without consent” about a week after an operation to remove a Stage Four tumor.
Parents Brett King, 51, and Naghemeh King, 45, are said to have taken Ashya and his six siblings from Channel ferry going from. Portsmouth to Cherbourg. They are said to be Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Assistant Chief Constable Chris Shead said the boy needs to be located “today.”
He added: “Ashya is in a wheelchair and is fed through a tube. The feeding system is battery operated and that battery will run out today ... Time is running out for this little boy. We need to find him and we need to find him urgently.”
Shead told the BBC: “By now, we cannot be certain they have not moved on.”
“If he doesn’t receive urgent medical care, or the wrong treatment is given, his condition will become life-threatening,” he added. “If Naghemeh or Brett or any of their children see or hear this appeal please take Ashya to the nearest hospital.”
A hospital spokesperson elaborated on the boy’s condition.
“Ashya was a long-term patient who was permitted to leave the ward under the supervision of his parents as part of his ongoing rehabilitation,” the spokesperson said. “When the length of time he had been absent became a cause of concern to staff yesterday afternoon they contacted police after a search of the site and attempts to contact the family were unsuccessful.”
Interpol issued an alert to 190 of its member countries.
