A still image from the dashcam footage shared by Kuhne. (Mitch Kuhne / Facebook) — A still image from the dashcam footage shared by Kuhne. *(Mitch Kuhne / Facebook)*

Australia man Mitch Kuhne, who runs motorcycle accessories company Shark Leathers, said he was driving north with his mother on the Hume Highway near Bardia, south of Sydney, Australia, just before 8 p.m. on Sunday, April 18th, when he saw "what looked to be a child in the middle of the highway."

In a post to Facebook, Kuhne said that he “couldn’t stop as we had a huge toy hauler we were carrying and would have caused an accident,” so his mother, who was in the passenger seat, called emergency services at approximately 7:41 p.m.

The initial call placed by his mother lasted about five minutes, and according to Kuhne, "police said they were putting patrols out immediately."

He placed a second call at 8:29 p.m. that evening to Macquarie Fields Police Station to offer them his dashcam footage. That call lasted approximately 44 seconds.

"I called the local station after realizing the dashcam would have footage and called to see where I could send it to help them, so they know what it is we saw and could pinpoint the location," Kuhne said. "I was told on the phone by the officer that there is no need to send it as the child had been collected safely and was on its way home. I felt absolutely sick when all this happened; I instantly felt so much better when I was told the kid had been collected."

However, police told Daily Mail Australia that they'd searched the area but found no child, and the search was called off at 3:45 a.m. Monday morning.

Furthermore, they said, there were no reports of a missing person in the area.

In an interview with Daily Mail, Kuhne said that the child looked no older than six and appeared to be wearing a blue parka.

"It just happened so quickly and obviously [was the] last thing to expect," he said.

Kuhne claimed that he spoke to a male officer when he called Macquarie Fields Police Station; the officer told him the child had been found and they would not need the footage.

The next day, Kuhne posted the dashcam footage to Facebook.

"The only reason I posted the video [of the dashcam footage on social media] is because I thought the kid was safe and felt okay posting it," he said.

Kuhne was upset to discover that the police had said they had never found any child.

“Now to see that they are claiming I was never told this makes me sick,” he posted to Facebook along with the dashcam footage and an excerpt from a Daily Mail article.

In the video you’ll see what we seen on our way home from racing what looked to be a child on the middle of the...
Posted by Mitch Kuhne on Monday, April 19, 2021

The video itself does appear to show a physical object in the road. The figure casts a shadow and seems to move, although that is likely an illusion caused by the dashcam’s wide lens. The outer edges of the frame are distorted due to the curvature of the lens. When the truck approaches the figure, it shifts relative position with the lens and seems to move as the perspective changes. This is especially likely as the figure itself does not appear to move (its legs remain stationary, etc.), only its proximity to the vehicle changes.

Viewers are divided on what the figure actually is. Some believe it to be a lost child—although opinions vary on whether or not the child is physically present or a ghost—while others argue that it may be a statue, piece of debris, a kangaroo, or even an alien. As of now, the figure remains unidentified.

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