A CHILD'S vest has been found in the rural area near Níjar (Almería) where eight-year-old Gabriel Cruz Ramírez disappeared on Tuesday afternoon.
His father identified the item of clothing as being his son's, although the Guardia Civil is carrying out DNA tests on it as a precaution.
They say the report of the clothing Gabriel was wearing when he vanished – a red jacket and black Adidas tracksuit bottoms – did not mention a vest, although as it is an undergarment, it may have been overlooked.
The search has now become more 'selective', say inspectors, who have cordoned off the area around the reservoir pools and water treatment plant in the Las Negras sewage works close to the footpath which leads to the San Pedro bay.
This time, the search continued in the dark, and detectives have been out all night.
They are accompanied by the now-famous 12-year-old Belgian Shepherd Elton, one of the Guardia Civil's 550 sniffer dogs, who was key in helping to find the body of Madrid sixth-former Diana Quer on New Year's Eve in a disused warehouse in Galicia, where she had been dumped after being raped and murdered 16 months earlier.
Elton, who has been with the same officer, Juan Manuel Sánchez, for 11 years, also helped resolve the case of a Brazilian couple and their small children who were murdered by the woman's nephew in Pioz, Castilla-La Mancha, and the so-called 'Majadahonda ripper' who was known to have cut up the bodies of his victims.
And he is not the only animal employed in the search for Gabriel – a team of police horses have also been employed.
Divers, helicopters, drones and over 50 police officers are on the case around the clock.
Between Gabriel's being reported missing and the vest being found, a man with an injunction preventing him approaching the child's mother, Patricia Ramírez, was arrested, but the boy's parents and interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido stress there is no connection.
The accused had been under an arrest warrant as he had attempted to deactivate his electronic tag, meaning he is now in custody.
He was said to be obsessed with Patricia, stalking her and leaving her terrified constantly and frightened to leave her house.
But his stalking started many years ago, and he had never tried to use Gabriel as leverage to gain Sra Ramírez's attention.
Patricia herself has urged the public to ignore 'fake news' about her son's disappearance, after unfounded claims of a white van seen in the area went viral.
Gabriel had been staying with his grandmother, as he did at weekends and school holidays, and had walked to a neighbour's house to play with some friends at around 15.30 on Tuesday.
He did not reach the house, despite knowing the rural area very well and its being a safe enclave where children often play unattended by adults.
Patricia has urged whoever may have abducted Gabriel – if, indeed, he has been kidnapped – to 'leave him in a public place where he can call someone'.
“I'm saying this as a mother, without any grudges, and purely because we want him with us – he's a very special little boy and very beautiful; he needs to be with his parents, he needs to grow big and has lots of things to do and life to live ahead of him.”
The child's father Ángel Cruz – who is separated from Patricia but who has been with her throughout the search – added: “Gabriel is very little and needs his mum and dad.”
Both of them have profusely thanked the professionals and the huge team of volunteers who have been making every effort to try to find their son.
They have offered a €10,000 reward for his safe return.
Photograph by the missing persons charity SOS Desaparecidos
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