From IndyStar.com:
Swiss end rapids search for Greenwood boyGENEVA — Friends of a Greenwood boy who went missing Friday in Switzerland are asking Hoosiers to keep Noah Kriese and his family in their thoughts and prayers.
Noah disappeared while on a hike at Trummelbach Falls in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. Swiss police said today they had broken off the search for a 12-year-old Indiana boy.
A shoe found at the exit of the gorge where Noah was hiking Friday with his family could belong to him, said Ursula Stauffer, a spokeswoman for the Bernese cantonal (state) police said. Rescuers had been searching for Noah near the waterfalls, where visitors can walk through a mountain to see cascades crashing from inside.
“While we have no confirmation of Noah’s whereabouts, we are hoping for the best,” said Jennifer Duffy of Greenwood, who identified herself as a family friend, in a statement issued to The Indianapolis Star and The Associated Press.
Duffy said Noah was visiting the area with his mother and her family. She said his father is currently in Lauterbrunnen assisting with search efforts.
“We ask that people continue to keep Noah and his family in their thoughts and prayers, as we, his family, certainly are,” said Duffy, whose son is one of Noah’s classmates.
“My son and I are very good friends with Noah and his mom. (The boys) were in the same grade at school.”
Duffy declined to provide any other information about Noah or his family.
The Star’s news-gathering partner, WTHR (Channel 13), reported today that Noah is a student at Center Grove Middle School.
Officials searched until last light Sunday for Noah and did a final search at 6 a.m. today, Stauffer told The Associated Press.
“We didn’t find him.”
She said police had ended their search. “Instead, we will be doing spot checks at key points in the gorge,” Stauffer said.
The Trummelbach falls, which drain glacial waters from the country’s famous Eiger, Moench and Jungfrau mountains, are part of the UNESCO world heritage site for Switzerland’s Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn glaciers. Thousands of tourists visit year to see about 5,000 gallons of water rage through the rock each second.
The falls are extremely narrow and dark, and can be reached by an elevator inside the mountain. But walking paths are guarded by rails and keep visitors protected from any direct contact with the falling water.
Rescuers have been unable to enter the water itself because of strong currents. Police said other hikers claimed to have seen a person in the rapids around the time of the boy’s disappearance, and officials are still appealing for witnesses who might have information about his whereabouts.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20090525/LOCAL/90525004/Swiss+end+search+for+Greenwood+boy