Without documents, tickets and suitcases, 9-year-old boy runs away from home and travels hidden to São Paulo

Nicole Gomes and Priscila Peixoto – from Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – With only 9 years old, a child ran away from home and traveled to the city of Guarulhos (SP). Resident of the West Zone, the child was reported missing on Saturday morning, 26.

Without an airline ticket, documents and bags, the child boarded a Latam flight, which left the airport of Manaus and was destined for the international airport of São Paulo, in Guarulhos. The child’s mother, Daniele Marques, told that on the day of the disappearance he was at home, in the early hours of the day, and when he was found he detailed how everything happened.

“He reported to me that he took a red bus from my home route and asked for information on how he would get to the airport. When he arrived at the airport, he looked at the counter to see what time the flight to Guarulhos would leave and saw that it would be at 3:50 pm, so he went to the gate where he was supposed to enter and waited for a distraction from the x-ray people and managed to pass through three inspections and get on the plane,” explained his mother.

Details of the trip

Also according to Daniele, her son said that the crew accommodated him, served snacks and were attentive, but as soon as he arrived at the destination it was possible to realize that he was alone.

“When he disembarked, he asked the flight attendant how he could get a bus to Campinas, and that’s when they realized that Emanuel had traveled alone and had no documents. Then they called me, informing me that he was in Guarulhos,” said Daniele.

After filing a report at the police station and posting photos of her son on social networks. The company contacted Daniele at 10 pm on the same day, informing her of the child’s whereabouts. On the other hand, the mother criticized and showed dissatisfaction with the inspection of the airport.

“What about the inspection? Didn’t they see when this child entered the airport alone? People have to be more attentive at the time of inspection and X-ray. So, I think this was a procedural error. How can a child get through a checkpoint and no one see anything? This is what is puzzling me, because if it was easy for a child to pass through security, imagine who kidnaps a child, like human trafficking and drugs. So, it’s a ‘fichinha’ for these people,” Marques vented.

CENARIUM also questioned Emanuel’s father about what happened, but Belo de Oliveira reported that the only person who answers about the case is the boy’s mother.

Amidst the procedures and negotiations of the Guardianship Council and the airline company, the boy returned home on Sunday morning, October 27.

Police investigates

The Civil Police informed, through a note, that the child acted alone, with no help from adults, and did research on the internet about how to enter an airplane unnoticed. This, because he wanted to live in São Paulo.

“The Civil Police of Amazonas (PC-AM), through the Specialized Precinct for the Protection of Children and Adolescents (DEPCA), reports that it learned of the minor, found on Saturday, 26, at the airport in Guarulhos-SP, after having disappeared from his residence in Manaus.

According to the team on duty at the Specialized, an airline company contacted the police unit, after realizing that it was an unaccompanied minor, and sent him back to Manaus.

The child was heard and the airport security cameras were requested. The investigation found that the child acted without the help of adults, and, before leaving, did research on the internet on how to get on a plane unnoticed.

According to the specialized unit, the child has no history of family violence and, during hearings, the same informed that the reason for the trip would be the desire to live in São Paulo, with other relatives.

“The family has already been heard, and the child is under the guardianship of his parents,” concludes the note.

Latam positions itself

Sought by CENARIUM MAGAZINE for its position on the matter, Latam said in a statement that when it identified the disembarkation of little Emanuel in Guarulhos, it immediately contacted the Federal Police and the Guardianship Council, carrying out all the bureaucratic processes for the return of the child to Manaus.

“LATAM Brazil informs that a minor was identified on flight LA3168 (Manaus-São Paulo/Guarulhos), on the afternoon of this Saturday 26, who disembarked at 9:09 pm. In Guarulhos, the airline called the Federal Police and the Guardianship Council, which sent him to a shelter to await the necessary procedures for his return to Manaus. The minor reembarked on flight LA3008 (São Paulo/Guarulhos-Manaus) this Sunday, 27, which landed at 11:45 a.m., being received by local authorities.

When asked how the child managed to go through all the security steps until boarding the aircraft, LATAM Airlines Brazil only informed that it is investigating the incident and did not give further details.