Police discovered a bloodied bag containing screwdrivers, special scissors and other tools near the site in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, where an 11-year-old boy was found with a fractured skull, the apparent victim of a hit-and-run, investigative sources said Monday.
Tsuyoshi Iehara, who is in the fifth grade, disappeared at around 5:30 p.m. Saturday while bicycling home from his uncle's house in Karatsu. He was found injured Sunday far from where his bicycle, skid marks and bloodstains were found, and police believe whoever hit him drove him to the site where he was found.
Local fire officials found the bag, normally used as a sandbag, with bloodstains probably from Iehara, as well as a bloodied towel, the sources said.
Police are investigating construction sites because a vehicle related to construction work may have hit the boy, they said.
They suspect the driver struck the boy as he was bicycling home, moved him to another location and discarded the sandbag with the tools and towel in a nearby forest, the sources said.
Although the boy had a serious head injury, he was listed in stable condition Sunday.
The accident took place sometime between 5 and 5:15 p.m. Saturday, according to police.
Iehara had visited his uncle's house, about 2 km away from his home, in the afternoon.
His uncle found the boy's bicycle in grass several meters below a road about 350 meters from his home, as well as bloodstains and the skid marks on the road.