The rescue team looking for Ariane (6) is silent

As of Friday evening there was no trace of six-year-old Arian Arnold from Bremervoord in Lower Saxony. Despite light signals, fireworks, children's songs and audio recordings from his family, emergency services were unable to locate the autistic boy. Now the search teams are radically changing their strategy: instead of noise and light, they will search for Ariane using silent methods in the future.

On Sunday night, the soldiers split into small groups of three to five and searched with night vision devices. They were only allowed to whisper to each other.

According to the “Bild” newspaper report, police and other rescue personnel from the fire department also searched for Arian in the search operation. They also told him to keep quiet. That's because rescuers now believe the autistic boy might be scared by loud noises, unlike in the beginning, when lights and noises were thought to lure Ariane out of hiding.

The search for a six-year-old boy has reached its fifth day in a row: Arian went missing from his parents' home on Monday evening, alone, wearing skimpy clothes and socks. Since then, drones, helicopters, search dogs, divers, sonar boats and Air Force reconnaissance drones have been in use.

Due to his autism, Arian cannot express himself and does not respond to being spoken to, which makes the search very difficult. The boy may have gone into hiding, unable to come out, and may have been approached by searchers who were unfamiliar to him. He was neither hungry nor thirsty, among other things, explained Jutta Bertold, an occupational therapist specializing in autism.

Aryan's parents again reached out to people in the area through Facebook and asked for support. “We believe Ariane is off on a great adventure,” the post reads.

Arian is a “sporty, talented little boy”, high energy, who can cover long distances and climb well. Residents should check for unusual spots regularly, parents urged. These include high seats, cabins or hiding places under tarps.