YESTERDAY, around 1,200 people took part in the largest ever search for a boy who disappeared in Bremervörde, Germany. Even after a week, six-year-old Arian was not found.
A boy with autism left his parents’ home last Monday – and has been missing ever since. Last night, about 1,200 people searched for him on land, in the river and in the lake. Despite the biggest search so far, the child was not found. The operation takes longer than expected.
“Due to the painstaking search of impassable terrain, a large part of the force will now rest,” a police spokeswoman said last night. During the night, the police wanted to analyze the results of the large-scale operation so that they could continue today with possible further investigative actions.
No sign of Ariana
On Sunday, a coordinated human chain 1,500 meters long was formed with about 800 people who, as the police said, systematically searched every corner of the field. From the town of Kranenburg, emergency services headed south to Elm in the morning.
“Footprints that may belong to Arian have been found in this area several times in recent days,” police said yesterday morning. In the afternoon, it turned out that the prints found belonged to other people.
After the human chain, the terrain was searched by small teams that entered hard-to-reach places such as thick bushes.
“I have never led such a large search before,” said Jörg Wesemann, head of operations for the Rothenburg police.
According to the Steinhude fire department, the so-called hovercraft, which is very suitable for searching for people in flooded meadows.
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Police officers on horseback were inspecting the canals, and ten drones were also searching the area.
At the moment, there is no word on the end date of the search, a police spokeswoman said yesterday. “The large number of forces shows that we still have hope,” she said.
The “quiet strategy” did not lead to success
Last night, like the night before, the search teams avoided making noise in the hope that the six-year-old would come out of hiding. Earlier, among other things, they played loud music and set off fireworks. These are things the boy likes, so they hoped he would move towards them.
On Saturday afternoon, farmers from the area were asked to refrain from mowing until further notice. The possibility that the 6-year-old is in one of the fields around Elm County cannot be ruled out, authorities said.
In the meantime, the emergency services continued to search for Arian on the river Oste.
Several sonar boats were used again. However, no new leads were discovered, a police spokesman said on Saturday afternoon. Additional emergency services combed the area between Elm and the municipality of Oldendorf.
Wolf attack excluded
A police spokesman said Saturday there was no evidence of foul play. He also ruled out a possible wolf attack. The wolf advisor from the Rotenburg district also thinks this is unlikely. Wolfgang Albrecht said that danger exists only in special cases, for example when a wolf feels attacked.
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The operational strategy of the search was coordinated with an autism expert, a police spokeswoman said on Friday evening.
Garbage collection canceled, manholes inspected
On Friday, garbage collection was canceled so that volunteers could inspect the bins. Shafts, sheds and garages were also inspected. According to information from NDR Lower Saxony, the emergency services also focused on the sewage system during the search. According to police, Arian is non-verbal and cannot respond if he hears someone calling him.
On Friday night, the police set up searchlights in the search area that projected a beam of light into the sky and played nursery rhymes until morning. The police hoped that this would attract the missing boy.
“The boy might react positively to something like this,” the spokesman said. On previous nights, the helpers lit fireworks, among other things, said the police spokesman. At the parents’ request, firefighters hung balloons and candy in the woods near the boy’s family home.
The boy left his home on Monday evening wearing only light clothing. He was wearing a long-sleeved sweater, black sweatpants and socks without shoes. This was also shown by the images of a private surveillance camera in the area.
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