Prime suspect as British boy, 3, 'abducted' in Marbella named

Police have named the prime suspect behind the alleged abduction of a three-year-old British boy in Spain who is feared to have been taken to Russia.

The youngster, named as Oliver Pugh, was last seen in Marbella on July 4, authorities said, adding that his British dad only went to the police on August 7. Last night, detectives confirmed they were treating the case as a "parental abduction".

They said the boy's mum, who is Russian, is suspected of abducting him. It was not immediately clear today if a court had issued an international arrest warrant for the unnamed mum.

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An appeal described the youngster as having grey eyes, blonde hair, being 85cm tall and weighing 15kg. A police spokesman confirmed today the youngster and his father were British and the mother is Russian.

He said: "We are treating this as a parental abduction. We believe the mother has left Spain and has taken the boy to her homeland which is Russia."

A well-placed source said: "The mum and dad are separated and there was a court order preventing the mother from taking this boy out of Spain. They are all based here on the Costa del Sol."

It was not immediately clear this afternoon what the child's custody situation is. It is not known whether Oliver was born in the UK, Spain or elsewhere.

It would be up to a judge to decide whether to issue an international arrest warrant to try to get the unnamed mother detained and extradited to Spain - but no court officials could be reached this afternoon to confirm she was now a fugitive from Spanish justice.

His parents have not been named. The Ministry of Interior appeal, put out by the country's National Missing Persons Centre, says: "Oliver disappeared on July 4 2025.

"His date of birth is November 3 2021. He was three when he disappeared. The place he disappeared from is Marbella in the province of Malaga. He has grey eyes, blonde hair, stands 85 centimetres tall and weighs 15kg."