More specialist teams join search for 2-year-old boy who fell into River Soar
Kent and West Mercia Police Search and Rescue teams and the Metropolitan Police Marine Recovery dogs will be joining the operation
Last updated 20th Feb 2024
More specialist search teams are being deployed to the River Soar in Leicester today to help find a missing two-year-old boy.
Police were called to Aylestone Meadows close to Marsden Lane at around 5pm on Sunday after the boy fell into the water.
Specialist teams were deployed to the area including Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, with diving teams from Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire joining the search over the last two days.
The National Police Air Service (NPAS) and drone unit are also supporting officers on the ground.
In their latest update this lunchtime, Leicestershire Police say Kent and West Mercia Police Search and Rescue team and the Metropolitan Police Marine Recovery dogs will be joining the operation.
The Environmental Agency have also been using their specialist mapping equipment to help officers identify key search areas.
Specialist officers continue to support the boy’s family and the force say their thoughts remain with them at this extremely difficult time.
They also say they continue to receive several offers of support to assist with the search which they are ‘extremely grateful for’, but for safety reasons they’re urging people not to go to the scene due to the water levels.
From enquiries conducted so far they have obtained footage which they believe shows the young boy falling into the water.
Yesterday they issued an appeal for people who were in the area during Sunday evening and in particular a dog walker who spoke to officers.
Assistant Chief Constable Michaela Kerr is leading the police operation. She said: “We have had tremendous support from the local community, and we thank everyone who has assisted with our enquiries.
“This is an extremely difficult time for the family, our thoughts are very much with them, and we continue to support them.
“A number of teams from across the force and region have assisted us during this operation and our priority remains to locate the young boy. Thank you to all our officers and specialist teams who continue to work extremely hard at the scene in what are very difficult circumstance for everyone involved.”
Contact 101 or report online at www.leics.police.uk quoting incident 476 of 18 February. Please ensure you provide your name and contact number when making this contact. Always call 999 in an emergency.