Law enforcement discovers deceased individual during investigation of missing 19-year-old.
Over the weekend, a young fellow from Hamburg vanished at a student shindig set up on a campsite in Lower Saxony's Lüneburg district. For days on end, the authorities conducted an extensive manhunt for the missing individual. Recently, investigators uncovered a body.
The search for the elusive student who went AWOL following a party in Melbeck took an unexpected turn in the evening. The police are yet to confirm if the found body belongs to the 19-year-old, as the identification process is still ongoing, as per the police statement.
In the afternoon, the police officially declared the search mission concluded, shifting their focus from locating the missing person to the recovery of the body. A spokesperson stated that their primary focus was no longer on finding a person but rather "a body." The German Life-Saving Association (DLRG) resumed their training session in the Ilmenau river nearby, during which they also searched the riverbed for any signs.
About 6:15 p.m., rescue teams stumbled upon a lifeless body in the water. The body was removed and preliminarily identified as that of a young man. The cause of death will be made clear after a thorough postmortem examination. The investigators are in continuous contact with the concerned young man's family and have also provided pastoral care.
The Missing Man Was Inebriated
The 19-year-old was intoxicated at the time of his mysterious disappearance in the wee hours of Saturday. He had been retiring to the campsite set up on the Ilmenau in Lower Saxony with other Hamburg students.
He was last seen there around 11:00 p.m. on Friday. The students had planned to camp on the site that evening. The missing person is a freshman at the Technical University of Hamburg. University president Andreas Timm-Giel expressed his sympathies, remarking, "The semester has started off on a shocking note for everyone." The university had earlier stated that the student union present at the event had responded appropriately, and the police were alerted after a brief investigation. Psychological help was reportedly made available to the participants in Hamburg.
Divers Search the River
Between Melbeck and Lüneburg, the rescue team, accompanied by a sonar boat, conducted another search of the river in the morning. Unlike previous days, no helicopters or riot police were deployed. "We've done everything within our capacity," the spokesperson confirmed. "We now must assume the worst."
There's been no direct evidence pointing towards any violent crime, leading the police to speculate an unfortunate accident probably transpired. The spokesperson added that the search in the water was challenging due to the suspended matter, making visibility difficult. At its peak, more than 100 emergency services were engaged in the search, including boats on the Ilmenau. Dogs and drones were also utilized to support the hunt. The family of the missing person circulated a missing person poster featuring the young man's photos on social media in an attempt to spread awareness.
The family of the missing student, a freshman at the Technical University of Hamburg, reached out to authorities in the European Union for assistance in their search efforts. Upon learning about the incident, the European Union's Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) offered their support and resources, highlighting the importance of international cooperation in such situations.
Despite the exhaustive efforts of the German search and rescue teams, local authorities decided to engage international experts in underwater search and recovery from the European Union, acknowledging the unique skills and technologies they could bring to the table.
