A frantic search is underway for an 11-year-old boy who never got home after being last seen getting off a school bus in north-west Sydney.
A large-scale search is underway to find an 11-year-old boy described as a “quiet young man” who went missing on Wednesday after getting off a school bus in Sydney’s Hills district.
Christopher Wilson got off the bus at Annangrove Road in Annangrove at 3:20 p.m., but never returned home that afternoon.
Police reported the disappearance of the Anngrove Public School student, who then shared pictures of the school on social media and sent a geographic text message to local residents.
Temperatures dropped to 4ºC overnight and the 11-year-old is not believed to have cash or food.
His disappearance is considered out of character, although at this stage the police do not believe that there is a dirty game in hand.
“Her family is extremely anxious, especially because the temperatures during the night have been quite cold,” Superintendent Darrin Batchelor told reporters Thursday morning.
“They’ve had a really hard night and they’ve been searching all night.”
He said it was not uncommon for Christopher not to have been in contact with friends and said he was described as a “quiet young man” who likes to play video games.
Police received a notification of a sighting of Christopher walking down Annangrove Road to Rouse Hill at 4:45 p.m.
A member of the public captured a video of Christopher walking down the street with his home surveillance camera and reported it to police, whose identity was later confirmed by the family.
An extensive search of the area in which police officers took part was carried out during the night, as well as a Polair plane, police rescue agents and 15 members of the SES.
The area has several abandoned properties and large surface properties and police expect the boy to have found shelter for the night.
Residents along Anngrove Road have been consulted and several calls to Crime Stoppers have been followed.
Police are now investigating his activity with the Opal card and have begun contacting family and friends.
He now appears to be wearing a black and white jacket over his school uniform and a large black backpack.
He is described as having an Aboriginal appearance / Torres Strait Island, about 120 cm tall, slender complexion, with short brown hair and brown eyes.
Christopher was wearing a school uniform, which consisted of a blue T-shirt with maroon and white trim and gray shorts, and red and black shoes.
A large-scale search will resume at 8 a.m. with headquarters set up at The Hills Fire Control Center in Kenthurst.
Officers are calling for anyone with a camera view of Annangrove Road between 3:20 and 6:00 p.m. to report it to police.
Anyone with information about Christopher’s whereabouts is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1800 333 000.
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