Missing British boy with brain tumor found in Spain

LONDON - A critically ill 5-year-old boy who was taken out of a British hospital against doctors' advice has been found in Spain, police said Saturday.

An international search began Thursday for Ashya King, who has a severe brain tumor, after his parents removed him from a hospital in the southern English city of Southampton for unknown reasons.

British police said earlier that a European arrest warrant was issued for the boy's parents, Brett and Naghemeh, both Jehovah's Witnesses. The family had last been seen traveling on a ferry to France.

Police said late Saturday that officers are questioning the couple, and are "waiting to hear on Ashya's condition." They did not specify where in Spain the family was found.

Brett King, 51, and Naghemeh King, 45, removed the boy Thursday from Southampton General Hospital in Britain and took a ferry to France with their gray Hyundai and the boy's six siblings, Interpol said.

Police in Hampshire, England, said the boy was likely to be in a wheelchair or pushchair, can't communicate verbally, and is immobile.

While the search was on, authorities urged the public to report any sightings and warned that the child's life was at risk.

"If we do not locate Ashya today there are serious concerns for his life," Detective Superintendent Dick Pearson, a Hampshire police investigator, said in an Interpol statement. "He is receiving constant medical care within the U.K. due to recent surgery and ongoing medical issues."

"Without this specialist 24-hour care, Ashya is at risk of additional health complications which place him at substantial risk," he said.

The press office for Jehovah's Witnesses said it wasn't aware of the facts of the case, but said Jehovah's Witnesses are encouraged to seek the best medical treatment for themselves and their children.

Jehovah's Witnesses accept medical treatment, but believe the Bible forbids some treatments and they often refuse blood transfusions.