If the child has been seen in the area ( for how long? days? weeks?) by the neighbors, where was he staying? Is there any homeless areas nearby? Could he be a runaway from another area, maybe staying with other homeless people in the area? I assume they would not be likely to report him 'missing' I WISH they would make a sketch of the boy- maybe parents or friends would recognize him.
Is it possible the guy in the van was in the area LOOKING for this particular child? Not just ANY child, but this boy in particular? Custody dispute? ( although a bit old for that maybe..?)
This is a little O/T but how did the abductor get close enough to the boy ( or any abductor, alone... ) to grab him and pull him into the passenger side door, get back into the drivers side, and drive off? I have sat in my SUV and tried to think how I would have to crawl over the console, open a door, grab someone, get the door shut again, get back OVER the console... I just cant figure how someone would do that. I know with Jaycee Dugand, the wife helped grab her ( IIRC).. but one person alone? How close would you have to pull up?? ( I clearly would make a terrible abductor! or at least an extremely clumsy one! )