Volunteers and police continue to scour forests in northwestern Germany for a 6-year-old boy who went missing on Monday evening.
The boy, Arian, disappeared from the city of Bremervörde on Monday evening. A massive search has been underway since then and authorities say it is too early to call an end to the efforts.
Searchers set off fireworks at night in the hope of helping find the boy as he had always been interested in fireworks, while firefighters put up candies and balloons in the woods near his family’s home.
Volunteers have also placed wildlife cameras in the forest in the hope of spotting the child, who is reportedly autistic and does not always respond when spoken to.
The low temperatures have raised concerns as Arian went missing wearing a sweater but not a jacket or coat.
Police said on Wednesday that a video of Arian was captured by a private surveillance camera in his neighborhood at around 7:15 pm (1715 GMT) on Monday evening. The video showed Arian alone, confirming what his family told authorities.
“The images confirm all the family’s statements,” the police spokesperson said.
In the video, Arian can be seen waving and playing with a stick in the street before walking quickly to a small dirt road that leads past a field to a wooded area, the spokesperson said.
Searchers have also used drones and a helicopter in the hope of spotting the boy from the air, and also deployed a Tornado aircraft that took aerial photographs with a thermal imaging camera.
Police divers searched the Oste River near the house on Wednesday as a sonar-equipped boat cruised the water.
