At least 150 citizens are searching in the area around the Groningen villages of Finsterwolde and Beerta for the missing Jeffrey (10) and Emma (8). “I also feel for the father in a way.”
In the sunny Hoofdstraat of Finsterwolde, a tractor or van passes by every few minutes, slowing down slightly in front of Party Centrum Finnewold. Life in the village, which dominates the news because of the search for the missing Jeffrey (10) and Emma (8), continues this Tuesday afternoon.
But now with at least 150 volunteers who have signed up for the citizen search for the two children. And with dozens of journalists, who sometimes partially block the road in the center of the village.
Jeffrey and Emma were last seen on Saturday afternoon in the vicinity of Beerta. According to the police, they are presumably with their father. The police have issued an amber alert due to the disappearance of the two children. A spokesperson still takes into account that the brother and sister can be found safe.
Many volunteers who spoke to NU.nl are participating in a missing person case for the first time. For some, the deciding factor was that they have the impression that the police could use all the help in the very vast and rural area where the children come from.
Thea Gielleit is one of them. The involved local resident comes from the nearby hamlet of Hongerige Wolf. Gielleit didn’t have to think long after she heard about the call. “I worry about the missing children and want to do everything to find them safe,” she says.
‘Also Feel for the Father’
Gielleit knows the father of the children, suspected of abduction, by face. She knows some other family members a little better, she says. “I also feel for him in a way. He actually seemed like a very ordinary man from the region to me.”
It is a warm spring day. Inquiries with the police reveal that no heat protocol has yet been implemented to better guarantee the safety of the volunteers if necessary. For that, the temperature must have risen to 23 degrees. However, all volunteers receive free bottles of water.
The searchers are all assigned a part of the vast search area in rural East Groningen, near the German border. But no one searches alone, says chairman Teun Hakvoort of the Coordination Platform Missing Persons (CPV), which has been coordinating searches by volunteers around missing person cases for almost ten years. “The safety of the volunteers is central.”
‘The Good Weather Increases Our Chances’
On the terrace of Finnewold, a few men in yellow vests are happy with the good weather before their search begins. “Then everyone comes outside, so more chance that we’ll find something.”
Around 3:30 PM, the calm has returned to the center of Finsterwolde. The CPV command tent is still there, and volunteers are still signing up there. But most people are now looking for Jeffrey and Emma on foot, by bicycle or by car.
The police announced that the search for the day will stop as soon as it gets dark.