An eight-year-old boy who had been missing for over a week was discovered alive in a sewage system close to his home, according to police in northwest Germany. The child, identified as Joe, had disappeared on June 17, triggering a massive search effort and concern among his family members.
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However, eight days later, police in Oldenburg were tipped off by a citizen who heard sounds coming from the ground and found him under a manhole cover. “After evaluating all traces and clues, the officers now assume that Joe crawled through a drain into the rainwater sewer system on the day of his disappearance and lost his orientation after several meters,” the police announced.
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The search involved a wide variety of police departments across the country, fire brigades, and countless individual citizens. The boy was found totally nude but with no significant wounds, only extreme hypothermia, and dehydration, according to authorities.
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“He lost his sense of direction and could not find a way out,” police said. “We are so happy, truly,” police spokesman Stephan Klatte remarked. “That is absolute luck. Of course, there was a possibility that we wouldn’t find the child there.
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Possibly, if he had not made a sound or these noises would not have been heard, then we may not have found him there at all.” Joe’s father expressed his deepest gratitude to everyone who took part in finding his precious son.