Police are conducting a nationwide manhunt for a Swedish national charged in his home country with kidnapping after allegedly nabbing his 6-year-old daughter in June 2007 before taking her to Cambodia, officials said Monday.
Torgeir Nordbo, 47, allegedly took his biological daughter Alicia Elfversson away from her mother, her legal guardian, and was last seen in Sihanoukville, said Keo Vannthan, director of Cambodia’s Interpol office.
“We just know the suspect is in Cambodia,” he said, adding that the Interior Ministry’s Anti-Human Trafficking Department and the Sihanoukville Municipal Police are working with Interpol on the case.
Pictures of Nordbo are displayed on Interpol’s Web site, which states he is 1.86 meters tall and wanted in Gothenburg for “crimes against children” and kidnapping.
Bith Kim Hong, director of the Interior Ministry’s Anti-Human Trafficking Department, said Nordbo could have left Sihanoukville and be hiding elsewhere.
During a news conference held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Phnom Penh on Tuesday to raise awareness about the case, Alicia’s mother, Maria Elfversson, said she had ended her relationship with Nordbo when Alicia was 1 year old. Nordbo allegedly kidnapped Alicia on June 4, 2007, she said.
“I am still shocked that [Nordbo] would do this,” she said.
Steve Morrish, executive director of anti-human trafficking NGO Sisha, said at the news conference that the government confirmed in March that the two entered Cambodia on June 9, 2007.
“We’re requesting the assistance of the Cambodian community and the expat community to provide information on the location of Torgeir and Alicia,” he said.
It is suspected that Nordbo shaved his daughter’s hair, is dressing her as a boy and calling her “Al,” Morrish said, adding that finding Nordbo could be difficult.
“Cambodia is a small country, but it’s a big country if you’re trying to hide,” he said.
The family is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to Alicia’s return.
