They recorded the voices of the mother and the brother. Voices calling for him. After Arian, who has been missing since Monday. Search parties play the calls over loudspeakers, again and again. In the forest, by the river, everywhere. So far without success. There is no trace of the six-year-old. There is at most speculation as to which route he might have taken from home and in which direction.
A review of day 4 of the search. Hundreds are out and about again on Thursday. Police, fire brigade and recently also soldiers, a whole squad of 250 people. On Friday night, cones of light illuminate the hazy night over Bremervörde. Children’s songs are heard from large loudspeakers in the forest. Maybe that will attract Arian? Where is the boy? Where can he be?
Friday night in Bremervörde: Several skybeamers shine into the night sky. Children’s songs are now also played during the search.
Photo: Jonas Walzberg
The rescue operations center is where the boy lives with his family. She recently built a house nearby. The place is called Elm and belongs to the city of Bremervörde. A town with around 1500 inhabitants. Emergency vehicles are piled up in front of the Elmer fire station and the community center next to it. This is where the threads come together. Here, very early every morning, it is determined which areas are next and how far the search should be extended, now it is more than ten kilometers to the north and along the Oste River. One of the squads found fresh footprints there. Arian’s? May be.
The Oste and Elmer Beeke flow near Elm. Police divers are examining all nearby waters.
Photo: Daniel Bockwoldt
Heiner van der Werp, press spokesman for the police in Rotenburg, which is leading the operation, remains cautious: “It remains to be seen whether this is a hot lead,” he says. The footprints were discovered the evening before. Van der Werp mentions the balloons that were hung in various places in the forest from the fireworks they set off. Arian loves balloons and fireworks, he might be attracted to them. Lots of details that the police spokesman reveals in front of the camera. The media interest is enormous. It’s not just that a boy has disappeared. It’s a special boy. That’s what makes the case so unique.
There is something about the voices. Arian is autistic and he perceives the world differently than most people. This makes the search so difficult. If strangers call out to him, he will probably get scared. If it is his mother or brother, his caregivers, this could free him from the rigidity into which he may have fallen. Could, maybe, possibly, probably – you can’t know all of this.
Arian loves sweets and colorful things, so the search parties hung up balloons and candy in the hope that the boy would be attracted.
Photo: Philipp Schulze
The public’s sympathy is overwhelming. “Fantastic,” says Erich Gajdzik, “I’m proud of it.” Gajdzik, a lively man in his early 70s, has been the local mayor for almost 30 years. He knows his people, except Arian’s family because they just moved here.
His people – they were there as soon as it was clear that Arian had run away. “More than 150 people stood in front of the fire station that evening and then left,” says the mayor. “We turned over every stone, rummaged through every garden and then continued into the forest.” Nothing. Nothing found. No clue where the boy might have gone.
Still has hope: local mayor Erich Gajdzik.
Photo: Jürgen Hinrichs
Arian is wearing nothing more than a sweater and sweatpants. He doesn’t even have shoes on and walks in socks. The last sign of life from him so far is a recording on a private surveillance camera. It shows the boy with a stick in his hand, marching towards the forest. With the clothes and the weather – it’s very cold in Elm again on this day, plus wind and drizzle. What chances does Arian have left?
In the distance, a helicopter with a thermal imaging camera scans the area. Police are using drones, sonar boats and divers to search the river, the Oste. No break, not even at night. Of course not. Gajdzik reports that people in Elm and neighboring villages repeatedly ask him whether they can help. But there are enough emergency services, that’s not the problem. Instead, the Elmers are now assigned to kitchen duty and ensure that the professional helpers are properly looked after.
The search parties keep coming across objects. It is unclear whether they have anything to do with the case.
Photo: Philipp Schulze
The police spokesman said that nothing could be expected in this case. There are no conventional behavioral patterns at Arian. So how to assess what drives him, what condition he is in, what he will do next? Anyone who is not familiar with autism is initially helpless. The authorities have therefore called in a consultant.
Jutta Berthold is an occupational therapist and has completed special training to give autistic people support in life. “It’s a world in itself,” says the 57-year-old, “these people have a completely different understanding of everything and everyone.” It’s entirely conceivable that Arian, for example, doesn’t feel any fear in his situation, that he has no awareness of danger. It is often the case that autistic people do not notice that it is cold; they do not freeze.
Where are you? The missing Arian Arnold from Bremervörde-Elm.
Photo: Rotenburg (Wümme) police station
Berthold makes a rough distinction between two basic patterns. Autistic people who scream and run away. And those who fall into a state of paralysis: “I experienced a woman who fell silent and said nothing more. Another patient suddenly couldn’t see anything anymore.” Another characteristic is that these people like tightness and weight so that they can relax. Arian may have crawled into a pipe or covered himself with heavy material. Such behavior would be both a blessing and a curse. The boy would at least have some protection from the cold and wet. But that would make it even harder to detect.
“I still have hope,” says Berthold. Why? “Because he probably doesn’t have to endure the fears we know.” The whole place, all of Elm, has hope. “We will not give up,” says the local mayor. And the police? “I never even thought about it,” says Heiner van der Werp. No thought of giving up. “We continue searching.”
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