Sad certainty

Arian case: police rule out foul play

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/dpa/Peter Kneffel, Polizeiinspektion Rotenburg, Krone KREATIV)

It has been a sad certainty since Thursday: the missing Arian from Bremervörde in Lower Saxony is dead. A forensic examination has now revealed that the body found on Monday is that of the wanted six-year-old. The autopsy did not reveal any evidence of third-party involvement.

The police announced on Thursday that there were no indications that the boy, who had been missing since April and had been the subject of an intensive search, had been the victim of a crime. The investigators did not name the cause of death in order to protect the family. "In consideration of the personal rights of the deceased child and his relatives, no details of the cause of death will be given," it said in a statement.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/dpa/Peter Kneffel, Polizeiinspektion Rotenburg, Krone KREATIV)

Body discovered while mowing
On Monday afternoon, a farmer found a child's body while mowing a meadow in Estorf in the district of Stade. The discovery site is only a few kilometers away from Arian's home. The area had been searched several times by emergency services during the search for Arian in April, a police spokeswoman said.

Arian had disappeared from his home more than two months ago, on April 22. The police assumed that the autistic child had left the house on his own and launched a major search. At times, up to 1200 helpers were involved.

Around a week after the boy's disappearance, the police then decided, in consultation with the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior, to stop the search. A group of five investigators continued to look into the case. Hundreds of tips were received, but there was no hot lead. In mid-May, the police searched for Arian again for two days, but again failed to find the child.