Search continues for missing 12-year-old Dante

Dante disappeared near his home in Tröingeberg, Falkenberg, at 5pm on Tuesday. The dog was later found, but it is not thought the boy knows his way home by himself, his parents told police.

Police, the Armed Forces, non-profit organization Missing People and volunteers have all joined ongoing efforts to find the boy. On Wednesday evening around 1,000 people were involved in the search.

“The boy is still not found but the search operation continues overnight with radio car police, police dogs, police helicopter and Missing People,” read a police statement at 4.10am on Thursday.

There were no immediate signs the boy had fallen victim to a crime, but police have nonetheless launched an investigation into kidnapping. They said the reason was that because they did not know where he was or how he had gone missing, a formal probe made it easier to investigate.

Dante was dressed in a blue coat with a hood and black shoes at the time of his disappearance. He is around 140 centimetres tall, slim and with blond hair to his ears. Police urged anyone based in Sweden with information of his whereabouts to contact the national police telephone 114 14.