Boy, 9, and Girl, 8, Go Missing in German Wilderness
Siblings, Hansel and Gretel Grimm, were last seen in southwest Germany, in the Black Forest yesterday evening.
Police are searching for the missing brother and sister who they suspect were abandoned by mentally unstable stepmother — who cannot be named at this time.
The Baden-Württemberg police have said that they are optimistic about finding the children as their distressed father explained that, “they found their way home the first time with a trail of white pebbles, but [stepmothers name] forced them out into the woods again.”
A large number of officers and specialist teams have been deployed to investigate the disappearance, and volunteers are also being asked to come forward to help with the search.
Hundreds of locals have already joined police officers to search through the night for any trace of the missing children.
Hansel is described as Caucasian, about 4 feet 5, around 65 pounds with blue eyes and blonde hair; he was wearing brown lederhosen with a blue t-shirt.
Gretel is described as Caucasian, about 4 feet 2, around 60 pounds with blue eyes and blonde hair; she was wearing a red and blue dirndl dress.
The father, Mr Grimm, who is a woodcutter, has expressed his remorse regarding his involvement in the plot; the police suspect that his wife manipulated him into abandoning his children.
Detective Pied Piper said: “The children’s father was very clearly in an abusive relationship with this woman, and so it cannot be imagined what Hansel and Gretel had to put up with at home.”
“We urge that people come forward with any kind of information about the children, whether they feel it is significant or not.”
He continued: “The family live in a cabin in the woods, and the children were home schooled, so we really don’t have much to go on at this point. However, knowing that both Hansel and Gretel found their way home once before, we are quite confident that they are bright children.”
The first 48 hours following the disappearance of a child, or children, are the most critical and so the police force and volunteers are working their hardest to find these children and get them to safety.
