Search halted for possibly missing 7-year-old in Veendam

The police combed Veendam for a boy of around 7 on Sunday evening after a passerby reported seeing the child flee into the bushes. The search was called off around midnight with nothing found, the police said to RTV Noord calling it a "somewhat strange situation".

The passerby saw the boy walking near the N33 highway. When he tried to speak to the child, the boy ran away and disappeared into the bushes. The passerby called the police, who deployed a helicopter, divers and sniffer dogs to comb the area.

Around midnight, the search was called off with nothing found. "We did everything we could," an involved police officer said to the broadcaster. No reports of missing children were received last night or after the search was called off.

"It may sound a bit strange, but if you are missing a 7-year-old boy, please let us know," the police said on citizens' notification program Burgernet.