Emergencies
Search for Arian continues – different strategy at night
The Bundeswehr has been involved in the search for Arian for days – using a Tornado plane, drones and a helicopter. photo
© Markus Hibbeler/dpa
Hundreds of helpers have been searching for a missing boy in Lower Saxony for days. A new search strategy should be used at night.
With a different strategy at night, hundreds of forces searched for six-year-old Arian Bremervörde also continued in the morning. On previous nights, fireworks were set off because the boy liked them. The police hoped to get a lead on the six-year-old from northern Lower Saxony, who has been missing since Monday evening.
A police spokeswoman had announced that a so-called quiet strategy would now be used – i.e. a search without fireworks or music. The tactic will be discussed with many people, including an autism expert, the spokeswoman said. According to police, Arian is autistic and does not respond to speech.
The Bundeswehr was supposed to search for the boy that night with around 200 soldiers. Night vision devices should provide support and the soldiers should travel in small groups. According to the police, using fewer forces in the search or stopping it after several days is still not an option. “Absolutely not,” emphasized the police spokeswoman.
Offers of help with searches
According to a police spokeswoman, numerous passersby and residents offered help in finding the boy. The police set up a telephone number for tips or offers of help.
Race against time
Arian left his parents’ house alone on Monday evening. Hundreds of emergency services have been combing the area around Elm in Bremervörde, the six-year-old’s hometown, for days. Given the low temperatures of the past few days, the search has become a race against time. A surveillance camera filmed the boy running towards an adjacent forest after disappearing from his home.
On Friday the operation was concentrated in the area northwest of Elm. The search there also took place along the Oste River. There is great concern that the boy may have fallen into the water. The rescuers were also out and about in the district again. Sheds and garages were searched. The municipality also canceled garbage collection scheduled for Friday.
Bundeswehr is sending more soldiers
Meanwhile, the Bundeswehr increased its support. In addition to the approximately 300 soldiers who have already taken part in the search, a further 150 soldiers from the Air Force’s Object Protection Regiment should move out of Friesland, as a spokeswoman for the state command in Lower Saxony said.
They are equipped with night vision devices and thermal imaging cameras for searching at night. The Bundeswehr had already taken part in the search in the past few days – for example with a Tornado aircraft that took photos with a thermal imaging camera. Drones and a helicopter were also in the air.