As the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) activated a high-level Ananda Alert for a missing nine-year-old child Phylisa Prussia on Thursday (October 14), CCTV footage shows the exact moment she was abducted. 

A concerned resident, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Our Today that young Phylisa, known affectionately as ‘Fel Fel’ was kidnapped close to home around 7:10 pm on Thursday.

The resident, in an interview on Friday morning, said that Phylisa was sent on an errand by her mother and made her way to the local grocery store in the community of Bath. 

“Her mother sent her to the shop nearby and on her way back she was grabbed,” the woman said.

As luck would have it, the resident said Phylisa was abducted directly in view of the store and, when she didn’t return home, an alarm was raised which prompted the store owner to check the CCTV footage. 

“When the alarm was raised [Phylisa was missing], the store owner said he would check because normally she would have to pass his house to go back home. He checked and saw [her] and he sent me a still and I shared it on social media,” the resident indicated.

Residents sprang up and launched a manhunt to locate the child and her kidnapper in the bushes surrounding the St Thomas community, however, there is still no trace of Phylisa. 

In the CCTV footage, a man is seen holding a child by her neck. The chilling moment also shows the man with what appears to be a knife as he and the child walked out of the camera’s periphery. 

Our Today has learned that the man in question is not a native of the area and is believed to be from the neighbouring parish of Portland.

According to the Ananda Alert published by the JCF, Phylisa Prussia is a resident of Bottom Yard district in the community of Bath, St Thomas.

She is of brown complexion, slim build and about 137 centimetres (four feet, six inches) tall.

“Reports from the Bath Police are that about 7:10 pm, Phylisa was last seen at home wearing a white blouse and blue shorts,” 

Phylisa’s mode of dress fits the description of the child captured in CCTV footage being abducted, however, she has not been seen or heard from since.

The Bath Police are urging anyone knowing the whereabouts of Phylisa Prussia to contact them at 876-703-4021, the police’s 119 emergency number or the nearest police station.