Amber Alert: Arrest made overnight, but 9-year-old still missing
Police arrested a man from Geleen at his home Friday night, whom they suspect is connected to the disappearance of 9-year-old Gino van der Straeten. The boy has not yet been found, according to the police. "The search for the boy's whereabouts continues unabated," the police said.
The hunt for the missing 9-year-old Gino enters its fourth day Saturday morning after the police announced a pause of the search on Friday night, a spokesperson said. The Veterans Search Team, a group of volunteers who search for missing people, will continue to search for traces of the boy who disappeared on Wednesday evening.
Gino, who lives in Maastricht, disappeared on Wednesday evening in Kerkrade, where he was spending the week with his 32-year-old sister due to his mother's illness. The boy went to play football on Wednesday evening at a playground in Kerkrade, near his sister's home. He did not return when he was supposed to at 7:30 p.m.
“We think he was taken,” said one of his sisters, 21-year-old Naomi, in an interview 1Limburg. "He's never run away before. I don't see it as running away because he was playing with some other boys."
An Amber Alert was sent out on Thursday. The boy is in life-threatening danger and the case is being treated as a crime, according to the police.
Gino has blond hair, blue eyes and was riding a black scooter with red handles and red stickers, according to the police description. The boy was wearing a red jacket with black sleeves from the brand Jordan, light gray jeans, a red Nike cap and green shoes with white soles. He is around 130 centimeters tall.
On Thursday evening, a scooter was found near a football field in Landgraaf that may have belonged to the missing boy. Searchers also found something Friday night that may be related to Gino. The police have not said what the items are and are still investigating, according to the Limburg police.
