Volunteers searching for Dante earlier on Friday. Photo: Thomas Johansson/TT
Police believe a dead body found in Falkenberg in western Sweden is that of a 12-year-old boy who went missing three days ago.
A body was found at a power station at 3.40pm on Friday, police told a press conference at 5.15pm. The person had not been formally identified at the time of the press conference, but police said they believe it is likely that of 12-year-old Dante, who went missing on Tuesday afternoon.
”We have informed the family that it is most probably Dante,” local police chief Christer Bartholdsson told reporters.
“Our thoughts go out to Dantes friends and especially his family,” he said, also thanking everyone who had taken part in the three-day search efforts.
Dante disappeared near his home in Tröingeberg, Falkenberg, at 5pm on Tuesday while walking the family dog. The dog returned home without him.
Police, military and around 3,000 volunteers from the non-profit organization Missing People have been part of the huge search party that have been looking for him since Tuesday evening.
Prior to Fridays find, police had launched a criminal investigation into his disappearance. Although there were no immediate signs that the boy had fallen victim to a crime, police said they launched the probe because it would make it easier for them to investigate how and why he went missing.
During Fridays press conference, Bartholdsson said that the preliminary probe is still ongoing, “but there is nothing that strengthens the suspicions of a crime at this point in time.”
Police did not want to comment on who found Dante, or how the discovery was made.
