Siblings Ágatha Isabelly, aged 6, and Allan Michael, aged 4, disappeared on the 4th after going out to play with their cousin
The search for brothers Ágatha Isabelly, 6 years old, and Allan Michael, 4, missing in Bacabal, Maranhão, entered its 17th day. The two children disappeared on January 4th, in a forest area, close to where they lived, in the village of São Sebastião dos Pretos, a quilombola area. They went out to play with their cousin, Anderson Kauã, who was also missing.
What is known?
Kauã was found on the 7th. On the 9th, the
Dehydrated and disoriented, the eight-year-old child doesn’t know exactly where his cousins were. In the area where he was found, searches were intensified, but without success. On the 16th, the mayor of Bacabal, Roberto Costa, informed a press conference that there is no plan to stop the searches.
On the same day, the Secretary of Public Security of Maranhão, Maurício Martins, informed the last place where the children would be together. Known as “Casa Caída”, which is located on the banks of the Merim river and about 3.5 km from the quilombola community, the children would have spent at least one night there, according to Kauã.
“What we want to guarantee is that these searches will continue. The entire structure set up will be maintained and, if necessary, expanded to achieve the main objective, which is to find Isabelly and Michael”, said Martins at a press conference.
Navy
The searches were reinforced by the navy on the 17th. The task force set up for the operation already included professionals from the Fire Department, Military and Civil Police, Army and volunteers. Eleven soldiers expanded the searches along the Merim River.
The team has a boat equipped with sonar capable of generating detailed images of the riverbed, explained the captain of Portos do Maranhão, Augusto Simões.
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“We are here to be able to use the same technology that was used in Estreito, when the bridge collapsed: a sonar. It scans, generating an image of the riverbed, the water column and the bottom of the river, let’s say, and we are able to identify some type of anomaly and, thus, optimize the searches being carried out by the diving firefighters”, he said.
Return to the community
Last Monday (19), Mayor Roberto Costa held a meeting with government partner bodies, and reported on social media that Anderson Kauã and his family want to return to the quilombola community of Sebastião dos Pretos. According to the mayor, the child has medical and psychological support.
