Emergencies: Two-year-old found safe after seven hours in the forest

Emergencies
Two-year-old found safe after seven hours in the forest

After almost seven hours of anxious searching, the parents of a missing two-year-old finally receive some redeeming news East Hesse: The little one, who, according to his father’s description, escaped in the forest near Alheim-Oberellenbach on Sunday afternoon, is found shortly before midnight in the darkness near a country road.

The helpers hand the little one over to his family – he is overtired, wet and slightly hypothermic, but safe and sound. In the town with almost 400 inhabitants in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district, there was also great relief about the good ending on Monday.

Walked two kilometers alone through the forest

According to a police spokesman, there are almost two kilometers between the place where the boy was found and the place where the boy disappeared in the afternoon. It was initially unclear why exactly the boy escaped and how he was able to travel such a long distance. According to a police spokesman, the child’s father had been doing woodwork in the forest. When the man looked through the wood again at the end of the day to plan further work, he had the child with him. According to previous findings, the little boy ran away in an unsupervised moment. The police are not conducting an investigation into the case.

A large number of police and rescue workers had been searching for the toddler since late Sunday afternoon. More than 220 professional helpers took part, including officers from the North and East Hesse police headquarters as well as riot police, officers from the police aviation squadron and several rescue dog squads. Around 100 firefighters were on duty, including divers who searched streams in the area. Numerous volunteers are also supporting the search – from helpers from the DLRG and Johanniter accident assistance to emergency pastors.

The longed-for call came around 11:30 p.m

At around 11:30 p.m. they were finally able to report the success they had longed for: the child was found. The little one is lying almost asleep on the ground near a country road between Sterkelshausen and the Beenhausen junction; he is outwardly intact. After a medical examination, the two-year-old can be handed over to his parents – no further medical treatment is required.

The mayor of Alheim, Andreas Brethauer (SPD), is relieved the next morning. After the news of the boy’s disappearance spread on social networks the day before, the whole town was quickly on its feet, Brethauer told the German Press Agency. As mayor, it is his job to keep calm in such a situation. But it is inevitable that you quickly think of the worst and also of what would happen “if it were your own child now,” said Brethauer. When the boy was found safe and sound, everyone in the operations department was “a huge weight off their hearts.” The mayor thanked the many professional and voluntary emergency services as well as the citizens who had searched for the child within the town. “And of course I’m also happy for the family that they found the best possible outcome,” said Brethauer.

Thanks go to the emergency services and citizens

Police Chief Michael Tegethoff also thanked emergency services and citizens for their support. After the missing person’s case became known, they “did everything humanly possible with great commitment and tireless effort” to find the boy in the forest area after dark. The news that he had been found brought great relief not only to his parents and relatives, but to everyone. “As a father, such an event is also very close to my heart. I am all the more pleased about the successful completion of the search measures, which are an expression of the excellent interaction between everyone involved,” said Tegethoff. It remains to be hoped that the little boy can process what he has experienced well.

dpa