The distraught uncle of a three-year-old boy missing in the NSW Hunter Valley says his disappearance is "unbelievable" as fears grow that the child may have been abducted.
Key points:
- Anthony 'AJ' Elfalak hasn't been seen since Friday afternoon
- An extensive land and air search is underway near his home in rural NSW
- The family fears he may have been abducted and report seeing a "suspicious" vehicle in the area
Family and emergency crews battled rain and cold temperatures on a second night of searching for Anthony 'AJ' Elfalak last night.
The boy is autistic and non-verbal and hasn't been seen since midday on Friday, sparking a large-scale search of his family's rural 650-acre property off Yengo Drive, near Putty, south of Singleton in New South Wales.
The family say a "suspicious" white, Toyota Hilux dual-cab ute was seen in the vicinity on Friday.
Fixed-wing drones, PolAir, the riot squad, trailbike and mounted officers, divers and hundreds of volunteers from the SES and RFS have spent more than 40 hours searching through rugged terrain.
As night fell on Saturday night, AJ's uncle Steven Kassis collected firewood for search crews.
ABC Upper Hunter: Jake Lapham
)"It's still unbelievable, I still feel like it's not happening," he said.
"As anyone could imagine it just seems so unreal that an autistic boy could go so far and now we're questioning so many things," he said.
"I was on the swing with him every day, he wouldn't leave my side.
"With the good help from all the police and SES and all the great work that the fire brigade is doing, I think that will get the result that we want.
ABC Upper Hunter: Jake Lapham
)"We've set up fires for everyone to keep them all warm throughout the night," he said.
"We're doing interchanges throughout the night. Guys are going out on the quads doing their best to search with the SES and the fire brigades," Mr Kassis said.
Family insists AJ was taken
Supplied
)AJ's godfather Alan Hashem said the youngster had "never wandered before" and insisted a "suspicious vehicle' was seen nearby on the morning he went missing.
The family said a white Toyota Hilux dual-cab ute was seen on the farm's private road about the time AJ went missing.
"Police are absolutely looking into every angle possible in relation to AJ's disappearance," Superintendent Tracey Chapman said.
"We do have an investigation underway and are following up every lead."
ABC Upper Hunter: Jake Lapham
)Locals join search
Rocky, steep and rugged terrain made search efforts slow going.
"There are a lot of waterholes, lots of creek frontage, wombat holes, natural caves and fallen timber," local resident Katrina said.
ABC Upper Hunter: Jake Lapham
)"There would be a lot of places to hide, but places to hide also mean places of protection, places to stay warm, access to water."
Justin, another local, said the landscape was "very rocky, there are lots of crevasses and holes.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiYWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTA5LTA1L21pc3NpbmctYm95LWFudGhvbnktYWxmYWxhay1hYmR1Y3RlZC1zYXlzLWZhbWlseS8xMDA0MzUxMTTSAShodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTAwNDM1MTE0?oc=5
2021-09-04 23:28:28Z
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