A three-year-old boy reported missing from his home in Bunclody, Co Wexford early on Monday morning has been found.

A man was arrested shortly before 8am on Monday after Jake Jordan was recovered safe and well, according to An Garda Síochána.

Gardaí issued a Child Rescue Ireland (CRI) alert at 7am on Monday for the boy who was taken from his home at Saint Mary’s Villas, Bunclody about 1.15am.

The Garda Press Office said it was believed the 3-year-old had been taken by his father Patrick Somers (30) “following an incident at the child’s home”.

An Garda said it issued the alert because it believed there was “an immediate and serious risk to the health and welfare of Jake Jordan”.

Garda spokesman Supt Liam Geraghty told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland CRI alerts were rare and had only been issued six times previously, since being introduced in 2012.

The CRI alert system is used when there is a suspicion a child under 18 has been taken without consent and where a risk to the child’s safety or welfare is also feared.

The alert sees gardaí supply information, including the the name and description of the missing child or children and the adult or adults they are believed to be with, along with geographic details and information about the kind of vehicle in which they are travelling.

The alert is issued through the media but gardaí also use other means to spread the information, such as electronic road signs normally used to warn motorists about driving conditions.

The system is used sparingly so its impact is maintained.

Facebook

Earlier this year An Garda said every Facebook user in Ireland would receive an alert to their accounts when children go missing in CRI cases. The Garda also has an agreement in place with Twitter to share CRI alerts with its users in Ireland.

The first alert under the new CRI system was issued on July 28th, 2013 after Eoghan Chada (10) and his brother Ruairí (5) disappeared while in the care of their father Sanjeev Chada (44) on a trip to go bowling in Carlow town.

The boys’ bodies were found in the boot of their father’s car near Westport, Co Mayo, the next day. Sanjeev Chada has since pleaded guilty to murder and has been jailed for life.

On November 27th, 2013 an alert was issued after concerns were raised for a mother and her three children, aged two, six and eight.

They had last been seen outside a school in Roscommon the previous day. However, within hours of the alert being launched, all four were found safe and well by PSNI officers at a service station in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh.

The woman was detained under the Mental Health Act.

On February 17th, 2014 an alert was issued after Saoirse Carr and her mother Rachel McDonald Carr (45) went missing from their home in Holburn Hill, Belturbet, Co Cavan. The alert was cancelled when they turned up safe and well the following morning.

On August 10th, 2014 an alert was issued after concerns were raised for the safety of Hassan Khan (2) while in the care of his father Mohamed Saleen Khan (61). They had last been seen in Ballybrack village near their home.

Less than one hour after the alert was issued, both were found safe and well.

Two months later, on October 16th, Hassan Khan’s body was found in an apartment in Ballybrack, south Dublin. The toddler’s mother Hazel Waters, who suffered from a personality disorder, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2017 for stabbing her son.

Her plea of guilty to manslaughter was accepted by the Central Criminal Court and her personality disorder meant her responsibility for the killing was diminished.

On September 13th, 2014 an alert was issued after gardaí received reports that Sait Canbullu (15) was abducted by masked men in Co Wexford.

However, he turned up safe and well in Ballymote, Co Sligo, the following day. Gardaí subsequently investigated if the initial complaint was a hoax.

On April 25th, 2015 an alert was issued after Anna Penar Turner and her three-year-old daughter Grace Penar Turner went missing in Co Meath.

The mother and daughter from Rathfarnham were found later that day safe and well.