A boy of about 11 who had got lost in the „Micul Cluj” park in Ungheni made it back to his parents after carabinieri on patrol spotted him. According to the General Inspectorate of Carabinieri, the Ungheni Mobile Intervention Company crew saw the child visibly disoriented and unable to get home by himself, worked out where he lived and walked him back to his family, who were looking for him.
The institution has not made public the child’s name, the time of the intervention or any other detail, and it does not say whether the parents had already called 112.
It is the third time in 12 days that the same unit has ended up, while on patrol, acting as a first responder. On 2 July, carabinieri called 112 for a woman who felt unwell; on 8 July, they called an ambulance for an unconscious man on Suceava street.
How rare this is
In its 2025 activity report, the General Inspectorate of Carabinieri says that over the whole year and across the whole country, carabinieri returned more than 20 children who had got lost to their families. In the same year they identified more than 160 people who were being sought and received over 1,700 calls through the 112 service. The institution does not publish a district-level breakdown, so it is not known how many of those children were from Ungheni.
What allowed the carabinieri to close this case quickly was, in fact, one simple thing — the boy knew his home address.
What you officially do when a child goes missing
The Police rule is to report immediately, not to wait. In its recommendations on a child’s disappearance, the General Police Inspectorate asks parents to stay calm and alert the police at once by calling 112 or the territorial inspectorate. There is no 24-hour waiting period before you call.
On 112, the operator asks what the emergency is, where it is, where you are, what number you are calling from and what your name is. The 112 service says an emergency call is processed, on average, in no more than 52 seconds.
Since 2022, the police in Moldova can also trigger a Meta alert, sent to Facebook and Instagram users within 160 kilometres of where the child went missing; the alert stays active for 24 hours. One thing worth remembering — the alert is triggered by the police, not by a member of the public. The parent’s job is the 112 call, a recent photograph and a description.
The Police recommend two more simple things, which in the „Micul Cluj” case mattered directly. A child should be taught that if they get lost they stay where they were last seen and ask for help from a police officer or from an adult who is with a child. And they should know by heart their parents’ names and phone number, plus their home address.
In Ungheni, the duty desk of the Police Inspectorate (20 Națională street) answers on 0 236 2-09-02, 0 236 2-29-80 and 060 760 302. The single emergency number remains 112.
Who the carabinieri on patrol are
The Ungheni Mobile Intervention Company was launched on 16 September 2025, the second of the five set up that year (Edineț, Ungheni, Căușeni, Cahul, Orhei). It belongs to the 2nd Battalion of the 1st „Mihai Viteazul” Carabinieri Regiment, „Centru” regional directorate, with a 55-kilometre range and a stated response time of no more than 15 minutes.
Law no. 219/2018 gives carabinieri, alongside their public order duties, the express task of searching for missing persons and the duty to give first aid to people in danger. Patrols in towns are also run as joint teams with the Police.
The General Inspectorate of Carabinieri does not publish a separate report for the Ungheni company, so the total number of its interventions since it was set up is not publicly known.
The information about the intervention comes from the public statement of the General Inspectorate of Carabinieri. As a minor is involved, Triunghi.md does not publish his name, image or any other detail that could identify him.