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Suspected Death of Missing Person Arian: Authorities Report No Indications of Criminal Activity

Frantic efforts to locate Arian, a six-year-old from Lower Saxony missing for over two months, appear to have reached a tragic conclusion. Rotenburg police revealed Tuesday that a corpse of a child found on Monday afternoon by a farmer while mowing a meadow near Behrste in the Stade district...

Police vehicle
Police vehicle

Suspected Death of Missing Person Arian: Authorities Report No Indications of Criminal Activity

After the forensic analysis, authorities predict the results won't be available until at least the coming week. The crime scene has been thoroughly inspected by investigators from Special Investigation Group Arian, who are looking into this instance as potentially linked to the 6-year-old Arian from Elm, missing since April.

At this point in the investigation, there's no indication of any external involvement, police have said. However, more details will only be released once the autopsy is complete.

The child's body was found merely 3km from Elm, a township adjacent to where Arian disappeared on April 22. The area was thoroughly searched after his disappearance, but his body was discovered 300m from a path connecting settlements.

In the week following Arian's disappearance, an intense search was conducted around Elm involving up to 1200 forces – fire department, police, Bundeswehr, and aid organizations – using helicopters, drones, tracking dogs, divers, sonar boats, and more.

Unusual measures were taken to entice the child out of any potential hiding spots. Upon parents' request, colorful balloons and sweets were placed in woodland and field areas. At night, helpers set off fireworks, played children's songs loudly, and projected powerful beams of light into the sky with searchlights. The community was also involved, asked to thoroughly search private properties and review CCTV footage.

The extensive search ended at the end of April, but the police continued to work on the case, coordinating additional targeted measures. For instance, the Oste river, flowing through Elm, was systematically searched multiple times and even up to its mouth into the Elbe in May.

Although no crime had been confirmed, the police did not completely rule it out. Camera footage allegedly showed Arian leaving his parents' house and running towards a wooded area in Elm alone. Consequently, the main hypothesis was that the boy might have been moving around, hiding, or even had an accident, such as falling into the Oste.

Authorities claim the farmer discovered something strange while mowing the meadow on Monday and called the police after finding the body. However, the area around the deceased child was not mowed.

Read also:

  1. The search for Arian, the missing 6-year-old from Elm in Lower Saxony's District of Stade, involved forces from various authorities, including the police, Bundeswehr, and aid organizations.
  2. The body of Arian was found near Bremervörde, just 3km from Elm, along a path connecting settlements, which had been thoroughly searched after his disappearance on April 22.
  3. According to the police, there's no indication of external involvement in the case of Arian, but they are still working on the case diligently and have not completely ruled out the possibility of a crime.
  4. The police coordinated additional targeted measures despite the lack of confirmed crime, such as systematically searching the Oste river flowing through Elm and its mouth into the Elbe.
  5. The investigation into Arian's disappearance has seen involvement from Special Investigation Group Arian, whose efforts include reviewing camera footage showing Arian leaving his parents' house and running towards a wooded area in Elm alone.

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