NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 14 — Detectives have launched an intensive manhunt for a suspect linked to the disappearance of a four-year-old child in Nakuru County, after he allegedly demanded a ransom from the distraught family and later fled during a police operation.The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has appealed to members of the public to provide any information that could lead to the suspect’s arrest. He is wanted in connection with the child’s disappearance reported at Mwariki Police Station on June 11.The report triggered an immediate search involving family members and law enforcement officers.According to the DCI, the family’s anguish deepened when the suspect allegedly attempted to negotiate a ransom as efforts to trace the child intensified.Detectives from the Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Protection Unit (AHTCPU), working jointly with officers from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) at DCI Headquarters and personnel from Mwariki Police Station, acted on intelligence leads that pointed to the suspect’s location in the Quarry area of Rongai.Escaped arrestHowever, the suspect escaped arrest after reportedly spotting detectives closing in on him and fleeing into nearby informal settlements.“Acting swiftly on intelligence leads, detectives from the Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Protection Unit, working jointly with the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau at DCI Headquarters and officers from Mwariki Police Station, trailed the suspect to a plot in Quarry area of Rongai,” the DCI said.“Upon noticing the detectives closing in, the suspect fled into nearby slums and has since remained at large.”Investigators who searched the room where the suspect is believed to have spent the night recovered a mobile phone, personal belongings, and a mother-and-child clinic booklet containing details of another minor from Nakuru County.The discovery has raised fresh concerns about the suspect’s activities and possible links to other child-related cases.Authorities have not disclosed the identity of the missing child or the ransom amount allegedly demanded, citing ongoing investigations.The DCI is urging anyone with information on the suspect’s whereabouts to report to the nearest police station or submit information anonymously to assist investigators.The appeal comes as detectives intensify efforts to locate both the suspect and the missing child, whose whereabouts remain unknown days after the disappearance was reported.Police have assured the public that all available resources are being deployed to resolve the case and reunite the child with their family.