Another search in the river

Missing Arian (6): New tip received

The River Oste was already searched by emergency services at the end of April - following a tip-off, another "incident-related search" was carried out.

(Bild: APA/dpa/Sina Schuldt)

The fate of six-year-old Arian from the German town of Bremervörde in the north of Lower Saxony is still unclear. As the police announced on Wednesday, the fire department and police searched the River Oste from Bremervörde to the mouth of the Oste in the Elbe on Tuesday. The background to this was that a woman from southern Germany had seen an object in the water in the live stream of a webcam showing the Oste near the Osten-Hemmoor transporter bridge.

"The woman reacted well," said the police spokesperson. "She contacted the police directly." Firefighters then searched the waters near the Osten-Hemmoor transporter bridge in the district of Cuxhaven. The police also deployed a drone, a special search dog and a police helicopter. The latter flew along the Oste from Bremervörde to the mouth of the Oste into the Elbe.

Arian has been missing since April 22.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/studio v-zwoelf – stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

"This was an ad hoc search," explained the police spokesman, who spoke of an unusual tip-off. But: "We haven't found the boy. We don't know what it was," he said, referring to the object that the woman had seen.

Active search now discontinued
The autistic boy has been missing since April 22. The police assume that he left his home on his own. For a week, hundreds of emergency services and volunteers searched for Arian day and night on land, from the air and in the water. Search dogs, an equestrian team, helicopters, drones, a Tornado aircraft, amphibious vehicles, boats and divers were also deployed. At the end of April, the police discontinued the active search, but a group of five investigators is continuing to work on the case and follow up on leads. Since then, the police have only searched on an ad hoc basis.

"We are still investigating in all directions," said the police spokesman on Wednesday. "It seems most likely that it was an accident", he said. It is possible that the boy fell into the River Oste. But there are still many question marks. "We think many possibilities are conceivable," said the spokesman. The police continue to receive information from the public on a daily basis.