A missing young boy was found in the sewers more than a week after he vanished from his family home.
8-year-old Joe has sparked a massive search after disappearing from his home in Oldenburg, Germany, without a trace on June 17.
As the child’s parents previously told the authorities, Joe was playing in the front yard when he suddenly vanished without saying a word.
For days, hundreds of first responders, volunteers, and local residents raced against the time in hopes of finding the young boy alive.
While the odds were stacked against them as there was no sign of Joe for several days, their luck shifted when a person walking around the Donnerschwee district heard “faint whimpering sounds” coming from a sewer on June 25.
After opening the manhole leading to the sewer, the rescuers discovered the 8-year-old and pulled him to safety. According to the reports, the boy survived the ordeal without major injuries.
The police have since launched an investigation into the boy’s disappearance and are working to establish how the child managed to get into the sewer in the first place.
The authorities are also baffled by the fact that Joe managed to survive eight days on his own.
“I saw how the boy was carefully pulled out of the hole, a helper calmed him down. I didn’t know it was Joe. He looked unharmed. I can’t believe he was in there and alive!” one witness recalled.
Another said: “A rescuer calmed the child down. He looked unharmed. It was very fortunate that he was heard – a lot of cars pass through here and the noise level is higher there.”
Meanwhile, one local suggested that the boy would likely be found sooner if he really did stay in the sewer for eight days.
“I pass by here often. If he had been there for a long time someone would have heard him earlier,” they said.
While an investigation remains ongoing, Joe is expected to give an interview and share his side of the story any day now.
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