A child who had been missing for more than a week has been found in a sewer.
Eight-year-old Joe, who lives in the city of Oldenburg in northwestern Germany, disappeared on June 17 from his front garden, prompting a major police search.
Image: Oldenburg police called for help on social media to find Joe
A passerby heard a soft moan coming from the direction of a log cover in the early hours and called emergency services.
Rescuers rushed to the scene about 200 meters from his home and found Joe at the bottom of the sewer.
A firefighter entered the sewer to get him out.
The boy was taken to hospital with hypothermia, but had no major injuries.
His father told reporters he was “fine” given the circumstances.
Police shared the news that Joe had been found and tweeted, “Eight-year-old Joe, live!”
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Officers are investigating how the boy got to the sewer and whether he was deliberately locked up.
He could not have lifted the thick lid of the fence on his own, police spokesman Stephan Klatte said.
“It is conceivable that he climbed into the maze of the tunnel at another point in the branched canal system and crawled through the pipes,” he added.
The entire sewer system with cameras is now being examined.