A large search is underway for a 7-year-old boy who went missing at a conservation area near Hamilton, Ontario, with police appealing for the public's help. The effort has drawn in crews on land, on the water and in the air as officers try to find the child.
The boy was identified by Hamilton police as Nathanael Selambi. He was last seen on Wednesday afternoon, around 3 p.m., at the Binbrook Conservation Area, on the beach near a floating inflatable playground where families had gathered.
The park was extremely busy at the time. Police said Nathanael and his family were among roughly 1,000 people who had filled the conservation area that day, and they suggested the size and congestion of the crowd could have contributed to the boy going missing.
The response has been extensive. Police said both ground and marine units, along with a provincial police helicopter, have been searching the area. Crews had to suspend the search overnight because of darkness and resumed the following day, with the summer heat making the work harder across the sprawling site.
Investigators have kept their options open about what happened. While it was not clear whether the boy had been in the water, police said they were not ruling out the possibility that he could have been taken, and they checked vehicles as they cleared the area after he was reported missing.
To aid the search, police shared a description of the boy. Nathanael is described as having a skinny build and standing about four feet tall, and he was last seen wearing a white tank top with Thomas the Tank Engine characters on it, green shorts and green swimming goggles. Anyone with information has been asked to contact Hamilton police or to report anonymously to Crime Stoppers.
The day brought a second tragedy to the same area. While officers were searching for Nathanael, police said they also had to pull a man from the water after his kayak capsized, and that he later died following what was described as a medical episode.
With the conservation area closed and no timeline for when it will reopen, police said they were hoping for good news as the search continued. Amid the ongoing heat that has kept drawing people to the water, authorities urged the public to take care near lakes and beaches.