The search is on for 9-year-old Gino van der Straeten. The boy has been missing since Wednesday night.
But what do we know so far about him and his disappearance? And what stories are going around? An overview of the facts and unconfirmed information.
Reporter Frank Moonen gives a final update:
missing
Gino van der Straeten will play on Wednesday evening in a playground between Hertogenlaan and Zonstraat in Kerkrade. He was last seen there between 7:30 PM and 8:30 PM. Around the time of the boy’s disappearance, a man and three children were also playing football in the playground. Police have already spoken to the three children, but are still looking for the man. He is not seen as a suspect, the police emphasize.
Appearance
The boy is 1.30 m tall, has blond hair and blue eyes. He is wearing a red Jordan brand jacket with black sleeves, light jeans and green shoes with white soles. He also wears a red Nike cap. Gino probably has a black scooter with red handles and red stickers on it.
step
Facts
An important starting point is Gino’s scooter. With that, he was at the playground where he was last seen. The police found a scooter in a parking lot near the swimming pool In de Bende in Landgraaf on Thursday evening. That’s about 6 kilometers away as the crow flies.
Unconfirmed
It is not yet clear whether the scooter found belongs to Gino. According to witnesses, the toys would have been by the pool all day on Thursday.
Step from #Gino was already yesterday morning at the swimming pool Op de Bende, says Richard Willemsen, who is paving the roads by the swimming pool. The scooter was not found by police until late Thursday afternoon.
More via @1Limburg pic.twitter.com/VorvOpWFjE— Maurice de Heus (@MauriceDeHeus) June 3, 2022
Family
Facts
Gino originally lives with his mother in Maastricht. He has two sisters: Kelly (32) and Naomi (21). The boy had been staying with his sister Kelly in Kerkrade for a week. The fact that Gino is now with a family member is virtually ruled out by the police.
Unconfirmed
The boy’s father was not in the picture. Sister Kelly says she would soon be given custody of Gino due to their mother’s illness. According to sister Naomi, custody does not play a role in the disappearance. Guardianship was allegedly initiated with the consent of the family.
Scenarios
The police consider a crime. According to a spokesperson, many scenarios are still possible. An Ambert Alert was sent on Thursday afternoon for the missing nine-year-old.
Additional information AMBER ALERT Gino 9 years old!
– Green shoes with white sole.
– Gino brought a black scooter with red handles and a red footboard
– Missing since 01 June 2022 from 6.30 pm
– Missing from Kerkrade
– See the poster for further information pic.twitter.com/5hy3sicMip— AMBER Alert NL (@AMBER_Alert_NL) June 2, 2022
Quest
The police have deployed a helicopter, sniffer dogs and drones in the search. The German police have also been notified. In addition, CCTV footage was requested and a neighborhood survey was conducted. The camera images at the pool where the scooter was found are not yet in effect. There are several citizens’ initiatives that organize searches for the boy.
Search team
Also, Medical Service NRW, a search team from Germany that specializes in searching for people and providing medical assistance and also has dogs, decided to help. In its own words, the team was requested to investigate on Thursday evening. Together with another German search dog team and drone team, they continued the search until 04:30. There will also be a large-scale search on Friday, Medical Service NRW reports on Facebook.