Police uses Facebook to reunite Manipal missing boy with family

Social media giant Facebook helped a 13-year-old boy, who had been missing for the past three years from Manipal to get reunited with his family with the help of police.

According to police sources, Prem Kiran had left his home on January 20, 2015, telling his parents that he was going to play at the nearby grounds. However, he did not return home after that.

His father, Sridhar K Amin, then filed a missing complaint at the Manipal police station.

The police investigations did not make much headway till recently when inspector of Udupi district crime intelligence bureau and official of the anti-human trafficking got some information on the boy being active on Facebook since early this year.

The boy's location was traced to Mumbai with the help of cyber crime cell at Bengaluru and a police team from Manipal and Bengaluru was sent there.

Police found the boy from Dava Bazaar in Prince Street, Kalbadevi, Mumbai, where he was working at a hotel.

He was escorted back home by police personnel last week, the sources said.

The boy told the police that he had left home as he was not interested in studies and he had the sole intention of getting a job and earn a living on his own.

He said no one had abducted him and he was not involved in anti-social activities.