An eight-year-old boy who has been missing for eight days in the German city of Oldenburg has been found alive in a trench. At about 6:20 a.m., a hiker heard a faint whimper coming from the direction of a manhole cover and notified police, fire and rescue services. The search for the child had not only kept the emergency services in suspense: many volunteers went on an individual or organized search, while companies and associations shared the searches.
On the seventh day of the disappearance, the police also established a murder commission. The assumption that the boy was hiding intentionally was outdated, it said. Instead, a witness gave evidence that Joe may have been the victim of a crime.
Now that the child has been found, “Eight-year-old Joe is alive,” the tweet read Saturday morning. “He was just found in a trench in Oldenburg. He is currently being taken to a hospital and treated there.”
Joe disappeared in the Donnerschwee district of Oldenburg, where former barracks stood. Intensive searches were also made in other parts of the university town in Lower Saxony. Villages, lakes and forests in the adjacent district of Ammerland were also searched.
How did Joe get into the manhole?
The fact that the boy was eventually found does not mean that the police have completed the investigation. There are still many questions, the most important of which is: How did Joe get into the manhole? Even a strong adult cannot lift the heavy lid easily. According to a police spokesperson, it is conceivable that the child climbed into the tunnel labyrinth at another point in the bifurcated canal system and crawled through the pipes.
“Some sewer pipes are so narrow that no adult can go through,” said the spokesperson. Now the researchers want to use cameras to look for clues in the sewer system to understand the path Joe could have taken. But the other possible explanation, that a crime has been committed, has not yet been submitted by the police. So it’s conceivable that someone deliberately put Joe in the shaft.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
