Eight-year-old boy found in sewers: what we know

Joe, an eight-year-old boy, was found in the sewer eight days after being reported missing. He had mysteriously vanished in Oldenburg in northwestern Germany on June 17, 2022.

Saturday, June 25, in the morning, a passerby intrigued by noises coming from a manhole cover decides to raise the alarm. A report that allowed the emergency services to find the boy completely undressed, safe and sound, nearly 300 meters from his home.

He was immediately transported to a nearby hospital, “where he received treatment for hypothermia and dehydration”, specifies BFMTV.

But what really happened?

When little Joe disappears on June 17, 2022, the criminal trail is very quickly considered by the police. The same day, the local police published a wanted poster: “Joe is about 150 cm tall and thin. He has dark curly shoulder length hair. He wears a black vest, also with white writing, over a blue T-shirt with white writing. He is also wearing dark pants and is probably barefoot.”

After six days of research, the local authorities no longer leave much room for doubt: “the initial hypothesis according to which the child could deliberately hide has become increasingly improbable”, indicates the police of Oldenburg.

However, when the child is found in the sewers, the local police easily solve the mystery and dismiss the criminal trail: “After evaluating all traces and clues, officers now assume that Joe crawled through a drain in the system storm drain on the day of his disappearance and lost his orientation after several meters,” says the Oldenburg police station.

The investigation must now determine how the little boy managed to survive for several days in the heart of the city’s sewers.