Police find body of missing 13-year-old Czech boy in Germany

German police have found the body of a 13-year-old Czech boy who had been missing since Sunday evening in eastern Germany. Authorities said the cause of death has not yet been determined and could be accidental, criminal, or suicide, according to the German press agency dpa.

The Czech Foreign Ministry confirmed the boy’s death but declined to release further details out of respect for the family and because the victim was a minor, spokeswoman Aneta Kovářová told ČTK.

A German police spokesman said the body was found near a railway line less than 10 kilometers from the campsite where the boy disappeared. The circumstances surrounding his disappearance and death remain unclear.

More than 100 police officers and rescuers searched for the boy over two days at the campsite on Lake Silbersee near the village of Friedersdorf, in the Bautzen district of Saxony near the village of Friedersdorf. The search involved boats, helicopters, drones, and dogs, with cooperation from Czech authorities.

The boy went missing at approximately 7:30 p.m. Sunday while on holiday with his family. According to Novinky.cz, the boy went for a walk alone on Sunday evening around 7:30 p.m., but did not return.

“We tried to call him, and when he did not answer, his parents alerted the police and a search began,” a family friend told the publication, adding that the boy’s phone later stopped ringing.

The German criminal police have taken over the investigation.