Arian Arnold, who is non-verbal, vanished on Monday evening and has seen “half the village” looking for him amid fears he wandered into a freezing German forest.
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His worried sick parents rang police just three minutes after noticing their son had vanished after playing in the garden.
The boy had just recently started playing outside alone and coming back in of his own accord.
Hundreds of emergency personnel have since joined the desperate hunt for Arian, along with an army Tornado jet, sniffing dogs, drones, and a sonar boat.
And now, German cops have decided to use colourful balloons and sweets as a way to track down the six-year-old.
Pictures show crews lined up carrying dozens of helium balloons, including animal-shaped and cartoon-themed ones.
Officers explained that because Arian doesn’t speak and can’t respond to calls or shout for help, the seemingly unprecedented rescue mission is “particularly difficult”.
They said: “We have to search very closely because we have to assume that he will not come forward on his own initiative.”
At around 7.30pm on Monday, Arian left his home alone and wandered through his Bremervörde-Elm neighbourhood.
From there, the youngster could have vanished into the nearby woodland which borders some rapeseed fields.
Beyond the fields is a stretch of the River Oste, where a sonar boat was deployed to scan for Arian, Bild reports.
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Arian was wearing only dragon-patterned sweatpants and a jumper with socks when he disappeared.
The youngster had just learnt to open locked doors, cops explained, but exactly how he vanished so quickly is still unclear.
The bright balloons might now be the hope to finding Arian after his family revealed he “reacts extremely to balloons”, Bild reports.
Firefighters have since tied the floating balloons at 17 sites throughout the nearby wooded area.
Gummy bears were also attached, which might help draw Arian in.
Lamps and wildlife cameras were also mounted, transmitting every movement to a cell phone.
The cameras are equipped with an infrared sensor that detects the thermal energy of humans and animals, which are emitted as infrared waves.
It comes as the German army deployed a Tornado jet to fly over the area on Tuesday evening in an unprecedented move.
It took overhead photos using a unique thermal imaging camera as a chopper also scanned the area.
Cops have been anxiously combing the rapeseed fields surrounding the estate, as well as nearby ponds and neighbouring gardens.
On Tuesday, dozens of police officers created a human chain to sweep over the surrounding neighbourhood, but it was ineffective.
They searched ditches, hedges, barns, dung heaps, and sheds till late at night, with no success.
Residents have been asked to check their outbuildings and private CCTV, as cops told them “the missing boy could also be in a shed or similar hiding place”.
They said: “So far we have not been able to discover him.
“We’re trying to do everything we can.”
A spokesperson for police leading the search said: “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 temperatures in Saxony at this time of year have caused widespread alarm as the boy could have now spent three freezing nights by himself.
The fire department said it is currently “critical” and “just below freezing point”.
On Tuesday evening it hit around minus two degrees.
Police said on Wednesday morning: “Unfortunately, we currently have no clues as to where the boy could be”.
Riot police forces have apparently been called out to join in the search today as emergency services double down in their efforts.
There is a small unpaved road that leads from the houses past the fields and into the woods, although it isn’t know whether Arian took this route.
A police officer said it is “quite possible” he is hiding in a shed or some similar location on private property in the town.
One neighbour said: “Everyone who lives here lives in harmony with one another. But you have to say that everyone tends to live on their own and in seclusion.
“I just hope he shows up quickly.”
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