Australian fire official seeks missing son

SYDNEY, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A top fire official from the Australian state of New South Wales says he desperately wants his apparently abducted son home safe as soon as possible.

NSW Fire Brigade Deputy Commissioner Ken Thompson said this week that his son Andrew, who is suspected of being taken out of the country by Thompson's estranged wife, is likely unaware of being the victim of a illegal kidnapping, the Sydney Daily Telegraph said in its Saturday edition.

"He's been ripped away from everything he knows," Thompson said.

"He's probably blissfully unaware of what's going on because he's only 4 but the emotional damage that's being done to this child is absolutely shocking."

Investigators suspect Thompson's wife, Melinda, may have taken the couple's son on April 24 and traveled to Singapore and then Germany.

Thompson told the Telegraph his son's disappearance came in the wake of the collapse of his marriage last Christmas. He also alleged his wife may not be mentally stable and that his son was the target of 187 countries' missing person alerts.