Police in northern Germany said on Monday they had found the body of a child, believed to be an eight-year-old boy known in the German press as Fabian. He said there is suspicion of criminal offense in the case.
Fabian, from Güstrow, south of the city of Rostock, has been missing since Friday evening after his mother reported he had failed to return home at the appointed time.
What did the police say on the matter?
Authorities said it is “highly likely” that a body found in woods near the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is that of the missing boy, although confirmation would require an autopsy.
The police and the public prosecutor’s office announced, “According to the current state of the investigation, it can be assumed that someone else was responsible.”
In the days following Fabian’s disappearance, hundreds of emergency personnel searched for the child – in nearby woods, in vacant homes and in an industrial park.
According to the police, around 200 officers were deployed on Monday alone. Investigators questioned neighbors and conducted interviews at Fabian’s elementary school.
On Monday night, several dead dogs independently signaled a scent near Inselsee Lake on the edge of town, but the following day several dogs found nothing in the area.
Police continued to search forests and abandoned buildings. A spokesman said the body was located on Tuesday morning after a citizen tipped off.
Initially, it was believed that the boy wanted to visit his father on the day of his disappearance.
According to the police, sniffer dogs had followed the boy till Gustro bus station. Police said over the weekend that a dog had again picked up the scent at a bus stop near Zehna, where the father lives. There, the dog found a trail that was later lost in the nearby woods.
The case has shocked the community in central Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where volunteers joined a massive search effort. Investigators have not yet released information about the cause of death.
Edited by: Roshni Majumdar