Germany Arian Arnold, 6, vanished whilst playing in the garden, Elm Northern Germany, 22 April 2024

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A huge search has been launched for a mute six-year-old boy who vanished after his parents took their eyes off him for just three minutes.

Little Arian Arnold went missing while playing in his garden in the small town of Elm, near Bremervoerde, in the northern state of Lower Saxony, on Monday evening. His terrified parents alerted local police just minutes after noticing his disappearance.

Authorities have since launched a major search for the boy, deploying an army Tornado jet, sniffer dogs, drones, a sonar boat and several divers for the search.

The autistic six-year-old, who is nonverbal, had only recently starting playing in the garden - where a trampoline and football goal post had been erected for him - by himself and would usually come back into the house on his own accord.

But when he disappeared, his parents 'quickly recognised the seriousness of the situation' and called the fire department and police, which said the search for the boy was 'particularly difficult' due to him neither speaking nor responding to people.

'Arian can hardly articulate himself. We are looking for a boy who would not contact us even when we are near him. It's possible he'll still be out next night. The situation is dramatic,' the police chief told German tabloid Bild.

Police have now confirmed that Arian was alone when he went missing, as CCTV shows him wandering through the streets in his neighbourhood by himself.
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"The German army is now also expected to help in the search for six-year-old Arian from Bremervörde. Around 250 emergency personnel are expected to arrive on Thursday [April 25, 2024], a police spokesman said."


It also says he is thought to have gone in the direction of a forest.

My heart goes out to Arian's parents. I hope that he is found safe today.
 
Article from today:
The search for Arian from Bremervörde, who has been missing since Monday evening, continues. The helpers are concentrating on the Oste river. At the same time, farmers have been urgently asked to refrain from mowing.

 
Arian is a version of the name Aryan, which seems an...interesting choice in Germany. JMO.

Just to avoid misunderstandings - Arian is not a rare name in Germany. It may come from the Albanian word "Ar" for "Gold" or a variation of the Latin name "Hadrian."
(My opinions, based off a website about name origins. ▷ Vorname Arian: Herkunft, Bedeutung & Namenstag)
 

They attached large balloons near cameras, hoping Adrian would see the ballons and would approach them. I found this brilliant!! Unfortunately, it wasn't successful.

I'm worried, that he's being held prisoner in some basement by now. :( Maybe, someone saw him walking away from home alone and took advantage of the opportunity, who knows. (As a WSer I'm always pessimistic.)
 

They attached large balloons near cameras, hoping Adrian would see the ballons and would approach them. I found this brilliant!! Unfortunately, it wasn't successful.

I'm worried, that he's being held prisoner in some basement by now. :( Maybe, someone saw him walking away from home alone and took advantage of the opportunity, who knows. (As a WSer I'm always pessimistic.)

Well, the situation is pessimistic at best. However, I doubt that somebody grabbed him. The country was on high alert very quickly and all eyes were on the lookout for him. It would be an enormous risk to kidnap the boy.
 
Arian is a version of the name Aryan, which seems an...interesting choice in Germany. JMO.
Not especially interesting, no. The English word "Aryan" is "Arier" in German. Quite often the syntax of the sentence is different in German anyway and the adjective "arisch" is used instead.

The girl's name Ariane (feminine form of Arian) is not completely uncommon in Germany and I've never connected it with "Aryan".

In addition to what ChatteringBirds wrote, Arian is a Frisian and Dutch version of Adrian. Some German dialects are very similar to Dutch, so that's a possibility too.

IME MOO

Now let's concentrate on the search for Arian, which will be continuing overnight, by sending good thoughts and prayers.
 
Attention/Warning: No mowing work by farmers within 15km around Elm!
Wow, farmers are being asked officially not to mow. It's just wonderful that so much thought and so many creative ideas are being implemented in the search, even if no success so far!

A link from my local newspaper with a bit more information on the creative ideas www.schwarzwaelder-bote.de/inhalt.notfaelle-suche-nach-arian-geht-weiter-andere-strategie-in-der-nacht.3f39920a-1c76-440b-bdfa-3b7be2cc4516.html

The final paragraph from my local paper also mentions a case from the northern German city of Oldenburg where an mentally-disabled 8yo was found alive in 2022 after missing for 8 days. The child had somehow got into the city drains (or maybe you'd even say 'sewage system', I'm not sure). He or she was found when a passer-by heard whimpering coming from underneath a manhole cover. The article says they're able to implement some of the experience they gained from that search in the search for Arian. I presume that knowing of this other case where the search was successful would help them feel a little more hopeful. But nights are still cold here, idk what time of year the 8yo was found.

Sending prayers to Arian, his family and search-and-rescue.
 
I do believe he fell in the water. A big river closeby and many other sources of water in the vicinity. He was fascinated by water. Sadly there are so many cases of autistic kids who drowned. Streams despite being sonar searched do not always reveal the body right away, not sure why, but sometimes they get washed up weeks or months later at the location that was searched.

I still hope he will be found safely but it is not likely I am afraid. Heartbreaking
I am mom of a 6 year old and it is so sad.
 

Google translation
Excerpt:
Update from Saturday, April 27th, at 8:42 p.m.: The police have announced their strategy for the further search for Arian. A “quiet” strategy was also planned for the second time on Sunday night, as the officials reported in the evening. This is perhaps intended to get the boy to show himself. A huge search chain is planned for Sunday that will “meticulously” search the entire area. Around 800 emergency services from the Bundeswehr, fire brigade, aid organizations and the THW are planned for this.
 
Last edited:
Not especially interesting, no. The English word "Aryan" is "Arier" in German. Quite often the syntax of the sentence is different in German anyway and the adjective "arisch" is used instead.

The girl's name Ariane (feminine form of Arian) is not completely uncommon in Germany and I've never connected it with "Aryan".

In addition to what ChatteringBirds wrote, Arian is a Frisian and Dutch version of Adrian. Some German dialects are very similar to Dutch, so that's a possibility too.

IME MOO

Now let's concentrate on the search for Arian, which will be continuing overnight, by sending good thoughts and prayers.

I believe it is also used by some Turkish and Balkan people and forms of the name have become popular by Game of Thrones (Arya). Has nothing to do with Aryan.
 
Google translation of the latest update fm the above link:

Police have announced their strategy for continuing the search for Arian. Also in the night to Sunday, for the second time, a "quiet" strategy is planned, as the officials report in the evening. This is supposed to get the boy to show himself. On Sunday, a huge search chain is planned to "meticulously" search the entire area. Around 800 emergency personnel from the German Armed Forces, fire brigades, aid organisations
 
Google translation of the latest update fm the above link:

Police have announced their strategy for continuing the search for Arian. Also in the night to Sunday, for the second time, a "quiet" strategy is planned, as the officials report in the evening. This is supposed to get the boy to show himself. On Sunday, a huge search chain is planned to "meticulously" search the entire area. Around 800 emergency personnel from the German Armed Forces, fire brigades, aid organisations
You had the same idea. :)
 

Google translation

Excerpt:
The note is also intended to prepare emergency services for the moment when they might discover the little boy. Accordingly, only one person should go to the missing Arian. The six-year-old should not be touched, but rather the emergency responder should get to his level or lie down next to the boy and say to Arian in a clear, calm manner, “I’m taking you home/to mom!”
 

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