Parents return abducted child to authorities
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
A 9-year-old boy who was taken from the custody of a state child welfare worker Feb. 5 was turned over to police last night by his parents, police said.
Calvin Sabanal appeared in good condition, police Detective Letha DeCaires said. The boy and his 17-year-old sister were turned over to police about 7 p.m. at the main police station. They were then placed in the care of child protective workers, DeCaires said.
CALVIN
Both children had been ordered turned over to authorities after officials believed they were in imminent harm or danger, DeCaires said. She did not provide details.
The children were turned over following a CrimeStoppers bulletin that sought public help with the search for Calvin Sabanal. Police said he was taken by a group of four adults believed to include the boy's father, Barry Sabanal, and other relatives.
Detective Erik Iinuma said officers had a warrant for the father's arrest on a prior traffic offense.
Barry Sabanal posted bail on the warrant, DeCaires said. Police are still investigating the seizing of Calvin on Feb. 5, she said.
The return was arranged after Iinuma received a phone call last night from a lawyer representing the family, DeCaires said. "The media response brought pressure upon the family," she said.
Iinuma said he received mixed reports from tipsters, several whom said they spotted the child in the Wai'anae Coast area.
Iinuma said he received the case Monday; before the case went public Wednesday, he spent that day and the next trying to contact family members to secure the boy's return.
Neither he nor police department spokeswoman Michelle Yu could say why the case did not come to criminal investigators immediately. Amy Tsark, administrator of the the state's Child Welfare Services Branch, said police were called immediately after the 10:20 a.m. incident in the parking lot of the 'Ewa Child and Family Services center.
She and other staff members of the state Department of Human Services declined to comment on the boy's case or give further details about the incident.
Police said state child protective services workers had taken the boy into custody Feb. 4 and put him up for the night in emergency foster care until the next morning, when he was driven to the center by a female staff member.
DeCaires said she doesn't know how the family members knew he was headed for the center, but they were there in a red pickup truck when the state van arrived.
The adults began pounding on the van while it was still in motion, DeCaires said. One person grabbed the boy from the front seat, although investigators last night were still trying to determine who actually seized him.
"This sort of action from the family is very unusual," DeCaires said. "I don't remember a case like this before."
She said the investigation proceeded quietly at first in an effort "to minimize trauma for the boy."
"It's a horrific thing, taking a child from the family," DeCaires said. "It's nothing anyone ever does lightly."
Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.
