Autistic child disappears in dense forest area in Paraná; firefighters carry out searches

On the morning of his disappearance, João Gabriel told his mother that he was going to the bathroom, in an outside area of the rural property where he was with his family, and was not seen again. Subsequently, the Fire Department was called at 12:10 pm and "immediately began an integrated search operation", said the ministry.

During the first day of the search, the teams carried out a sweep of an area of approximately three square kilometers in a predominantly agricultural region, with dense vegetation, dense forest and several tanks (with the aid of sonar) and dams.

According to the Fire Department, around 150 people, including military firefighters, volunteers, teams from the Civil Police, Military Police and Municipal Guard, mobilized to search for the child on the first day. To date, drones with thermal cameras, technical diving, two search pairs with dogs, the Arcanjo 01 aircraft, from CBMPR; the Falcão 08 aircraft, from the Paraná Military Police; in addition to 10 vehicles.

The Paraná Civil Police interviewed those responsible for the child, in addition to collecting images from security cameras to clarify the disappearance. "With the support of other security forces, the PCPR continues the searches," the ministry said in a note.

João Gabriel's disappearance was also reported on the national Amber Alert system, a tool from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) in partnership with Meta, responsible for notifying Instagram and Facebook users, within a radius of up to 160 kilometers from where the child was last seen.

To contribute information that leads to the location of João Gabriel, reports can be made anonymously by calling 197, PCPR, 181, Hotline, or directly at the nearest police unit.