POLICE are hunting the inmate who escaped Mannus prison at Tumbarumba on Thursday believing he may be connected to the abduction of a Wagga girl, 5, early on Saturday morning.
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Wagga residents are reliving the horror of last year’s Valentine’s Day kidnapping and police are “horrified” after the second child abduction in the city in less than 18 months.
Police last night released a photo and description of Trevor Ross Ryan saying they want to speak with him in relation to the kidnapping.
The little girl was snatched from her Cullen Road home after a man managed to break into her home on Saturday about 4.50am.
Her screams woke neighbours, who saw a man with the girl in his arms trying to make an escape.
The first neighbour on the scene successfully thwarted the abduction by chasing the man down the street.
The kidnapper released the girl further down Cullen Road and ran off north towards the industrial hub on Dobney Avenue.
The neighbour continued to chase the man down Cullen Road but lost sight of him when he turned into Edward Street.
The girl was unharmed and was reunited with her family after a triple-0 call alerted police.
Cullen Road was closed down on Saturday as Wagga detectives and highway patrol scoured the area and interviewed neighbours.
No one living on Cullen Road was allowed to leave the area before questioning.
Officers from the NSW Police sex crime squad have since joined the investigation.
Wagga local area command superintendent David Simmons described the abduction as every parent’s worst nightmare.
“This little girl is enormously traumatised, as you would expect, it is a terrible thing to happen,” he said.
“If this is a completely random attack then it doesn’t get much worse than this.
“To think a parent cannot go to bed without fearing their child won’t be there in the morning is horrific.”
Police believe Ryan might be near Dubbo and driving a white 1993 Mitsubishi Triton with registration plates SPV 999.
He is described as Aboriginal appearance, 20, 177 centimetres tall with a medium build and black hair which is shaved on both sides.