High alert for missing British child as 6-y-o vanishes after being taken to Jamaica

Fears are mounting for a six-year-old British girl who was brought to Jamaica by a relative and has since vanished, triggering a high alert from local police as desperate efforts continue to find her.

Missing is Tau Kleio Rodriquez-Fairplay, a London native, who was reported missing on Thursday, April 9, after all attempts to locate her proved unsuccessful.

Police say the child is of brown complexion, medium build, about 104 centimetres (3 feet 6 inches) tall, and was last seen wearing a pink coat with butterflies.

The troubling case has deepened in urgency as it emerged that Tau was allegedly taken from her home in the United Kingdom in February by her other parent and brought to Jamaica.

Her mother, Dr Samar Rodriguez, a London-based academic, has been frantically searching for her daughter for months, pursuing multiple legal and diplomatic avenues in a bid to secure her return.

Despite obtaining a Supreme Court order for Tau's return, the child remains unaccounted for.

Dr Rodriguez previously revealed that she filed a criminal case against her ex-partner in the British High Court, submitted a Hague Convention application, and worked with the Jamaican Central Authority in her efforts to locate Tau.

She also raised concerns that her ex-partner may have been exploiting systemic loopholes to evade scrutiny, while expressing fears that the case could be deprioritised, concerns she said authorities assured her would not affect the investigation.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force is now urging members of the public to assist in locating the child.

Anyone with information on Tau's whereabouts is being asked to contact the Black River Police at 876-965-2232, call 119, or report to the nearest police station.

- Sashana Small

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