Cyprus police: Norwegian sought in daughter’s kidnapping

NICOSIA, Cyprus – A Cyprus police spokesman says an arrest warrant has been issued for the Norwegian father of a 4-year-old girl who was snatched outside a Nicosia daycare.

Andreas Angelides says the 49-year-old Norwegian, who is divorced from the girl’s Cypriot mother, is sought on suspicion of kidnapping, abduction and assault.

Angelides says police are on alert at all the island’s exit points, including crossings into the ethnically divided island’s breakaway Turkish Cypriot north.

Police say Marie Eleni Grimsrud was taken when her mother dropped her off at the daycare. Two hooded men grabbed the girl and put her in a black Range Rover before speeding off. A third man was at the wheel.

Police say the girl may have been the target of another kidnapping attempt last year.