26 February 2024 , 17:00
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An "expert" diver and his search team involved in the Nicola Bulley case is to be brought in to help find a missing two year old who fell into a Leicestershire river.
Xielo Maruziva disappeared after entering the River Soar in Aylestone more than two weeks ago and a major search has failed to find him so far. Now Leicestershire Police has confirmed a specialist team led by Peter Faulding that helped look for Ms Bulley in Lancashire is joining the search.
The move comes days after Xielo's family appealed to police to involve the organisation, called Specialist Group International (SGI). The force also said today that the boundary of the search area had been widened, and now covered a stretch of the River Soar around Watermead Park and Birstall.
SGI will be joining the search from tomorrow, Tuesday February 27, the force said, following “further conversations” with search specialists and Xielo’s family. Xielo fell into the River Soar at Aylestone Meadows just after 5pm on Sunday, February 18, in what has been described as a “tragic set of circumstances.”
Police search for the missing 2 year old in the River Soar (Tom Maddick SWNS)Mr Faulding, 61, said his offers to help had been "ignored" for more than a week by Leicestershire Police while family members were wanting him to get involved.
Nicola Bulley's children 'cried their eyes out' after being told 'mummy's lost'
Leicestershire officers are being supported by specialist diving teams from Nottinghamshire Police and Lincolnshire Police, as well as other forces and search and rescue teams from across the region and country. Assistant chief constable Michaela Kerr said: “We continue to be grateful to the support we’ve been shown by the public and colleagues from other forces and agencies.
“We’re in regular contact with Xielo’s family and are continuing to support them in what remains a very upsetting time. Our search operation to locate Xielo continues to widen as we know he may have travelled further from where he went into the water – and potentially outside our force area.
So far the two-year-old boy has not been found (Tom Maddick SWNS)“I would like to reassure you that our operation is continuing and our teams will be carrying out co-ordinated searches at various points along the river. Our decision to involve SGI in the search in liaison with Xielo’s family and having spoken to both the company and independent specialists. I’d also like to remind the public that the river is dangerous and that they should not go into the water themselves. Thank you.”
Xielo’s grandmother, Kayela Smith said police had “refused” the help of Mr Faulding while he has spoken of his willingness to join the search. He said: "The request came in from the family on February 21 - they pleaded with me to help them search. I said I'd do it free of charge - my team is ready to roll straight away. We've got the best equipment in the world, and I've got an untarnished reputation for finding 10 drowning victims per year. We're not some amateur team. But we've been ignored by the police.
"We've put constant requests in to help find Xielo since Wednesday - but we've heard nothing back. Or, they've said they've got enough resources. This isn't about police hatred - it's about finding a two-year-old boy, the same age as my own grandson."