Police launch manhunt for teen who ran away with sixth-grade girl

Police in Turkana County have launched a manhunt for a seventh-grade boy who ran away with a sixth-grade girl.

The two students reportedly lived together, husband and wife, in a house owned by the 16-year-old boy, in the border town of Lokichoggio, and were out of school for most of this term.

The authorities, following a tip, rescued the girl, but the boy managed to escape arrest. The police are looking for him and his parents.

Julius Ilete, a local chef who has been searching for the girl for several weeks, caught the duo enjoying their stay in the house.

The head of the Mogila site said the minors had been missing from the school since the start of the school year, prompting him and the girl's parents to launch a search.

“I received a report from the girl’s parents that their daughter had gone missing from school. We managed to track them down through a tip from the public,” Ilete said.

According to the chief, the students were engaged in an illicit affair.

Lokichoggio County Deputy Commissioner Ooko Anyumba said they were searching for the parents of the boy who is still at large after evading arrest.

“We have deployed security agents to search for the parents who escaped arrest. They will be held responsible for tolerating such behavior. We ask them to go to the police to shed light on this matter,” he said. declared Anyumba.

Ooko said they would hold teachers at the respective schools accountable for failing to report the minors' plight to authorities after they missed classes for several weeks.

He said the case has been turned over to the children's department for further information because both students are minors.

Furthermore, the police in the region are tasked with rescuing a 9-year-old girl who was allegedly married to a 50-year-old man in the Lokichoggio – Songot region.

Anyumba said they ordered chiefs to hunt down the suspect after the matter was highlighted in the media, prompting authorities to act.

The DCC said the girl was still missing and rescue efforts were underway.

Cases of early marriages have become commonplace in the region as non-governmental organizations and civil society intensify their campaigns to combat this vice in the county.