Germany: 1,200 rescuers search for missing 6-year-old autism boy

A large-scale effort to find  a missing 6-year-old with autism continued on Sunday near the northern German town of Bremervorde, west of Hamburg.

Around 1,200 people including police, soldiers, firefighters, members of the THW civil protection agency and volunteers have been searching for the child.

The boy, called Arian, was last seen on Monday evening. A surveillance camera filmed the boy leaving his parents home in Elm and running towards a nearby forest, alone.

He had last been seen wearing an orange, long-sleeved sweater, black-dragon-print sweatpants and socks.

Missing child non-responsive

Arian has autism and according to police cannot articulate himself and does not respond when spoken to.

Authorities have deployed boats, drones and sniffer dogs, while search and rescue teams have searched ditches and pipes.

"The large number of forces" that were deployed on Sunday "shows that we still have hope," German press agency DPA quoted a police spokesperson as saying.

Investigators have said there are no indications of foul play in Arian's disappearance and that the search will continue on Monday.

The search zone — which had previously focused on the area around Elm — was extended on Sunday to include more remote locations.

As part of the efforts, a 1.5-kilometer (nearly a mile) wide human chain moved from north to south towards Elm.

Police say that footprints that could have come from Arian have been repeatedly found in search area in recent days.

Soldiers have also been using night vision goggles and police divers have also been scouring the nearby Oste river.