During the night from Friday to Saturday, the police arrested a man who is suspected of involvement in the disappearance of 9-year-old Gino. The man was arrested at his home in Geleen. The police report that Gino has not yet been found, the search continues unabated.
The boy disappeared on Wednesday evening in Kerkrade, after he had played football for a while at a playground near the house of his 32-year-old sister, with whom he was staying. A day later, the police sent an Amber Alert to draw attention to the missing person. The police said on Friday that they would take all scenarios into account.
In the woods next to the playground in Kerkrade, citizens who helped with the investigation found ‘something’ on Friday evening that may be related to the disappearance of the 9-year-old boy. A police spokesperson said it was not a person. The playground and parking lot that were closed off for the investigation have now been released.
At the time of Gino’s disappearance, according to the police, a man and three children were playing football on the playing field. The police had already spoken to the children on Thursday evening, but not yet the man. Local residents and others who have seen the man have been urged to contact the police. “Any tip can be of value to the investigation,” the police said. It is not yet known whether this is the man who has now been arrested.
According to the regional broadcaster L1, Gino lives with his mother in Maastricht, but because she is sick, the boy stayed with his sister. His sister would soon be given custody of Gino. According to L1, Gino’s father is not in the picture and the police ‘virtually’ rule out that the boy is currently with a relative.
Another 21-year-old sister of Gino tells L1 that she can’t figure out why her brother ran away herself. “He was playing with some other boys,” she says. “We think he was taken.”
Helping more than a hundred citizens in search
Friday was again searched for Gino. More than a hundred citizens are combing the area in and around Kerkrade, says Auke van Slooten, who is on site on behalf of the Coordination Platform for Missing. The platform provides volunteers with orange vests and prods and assigns them an area within the built-up area in consultation with the police. Once on the road, the volunteers can take pictures of possible leads and share them in a WhatsApp group. Photos are already pouring in, for example of found clothing. The police are investigating whether the finds of volunteers are related to Gino.
The police receive help in the search from, among others, the Veterans Search Team Foundation, which also helped in the search for Anne Faber. About seventy veterans and other former uniformed personnel are scouring lines in parts of Kerkrade and the nearby Berenbos. The German Medical Service NRW also searched for traces of the boy on Thursday evening, including with sniffer dogs and drones.
On Thursday evening, a scooter was found in a parking lot by a swimming pool in Landgraaf, about six kilometers from where Gino was last seen, which closely resembles the scooter Gino had with him. Gino’s sister would have recognized the scooter, but the police are still investigating whether it is actually the same one. Traces were also searched for in the vicinity of the swimming pool.