Denver Fire Department divers searched reflecting ponds in the web of apartment complexes and townhomes off South Monaco Parkway this evening, as the search for a missing 12-year-old boy pushed into the darkness.
The search turned up no sign of Ghassane Elmouhaddar, who rode off Monday afternoon on his silver Razor scooter and hasn’t been seen since.
“He asked to go out, like he always does,” said his father, Ahmed Elmouhaddar “There were no problems.”
A police crisis negotiation team van set up outside the apartments where the boy lived, and at least two dozen police officers and firefighters searched for the boy as night fell.
“We’ll look for as long as it takes,” said Denver police spokeswoman Loretta Beauvais.
The police search began Tuesday. No Amber Alert had been issued as of Tuesday evening because police have no direct evidence Ghassane has been abducted or harmed, she said.
“At this point, there’s no evidence that this is an abduction or anything like that,” Beauvais said. “But this is out of character for him.”
Ghassane’s father said the boy asked his mother for permission to play in one of the nearby parks at about 3:30 p.m. Monday. He had not been upset and nothing was unusual, Ahmed Elmouhaddar said.
“He was OK,” he said.
Family and friends haven’t seen him, and Ghassane did not show up for school Tuesday at Quest Academy, his father said.
Larry Barbosa walked around the Berkshires at Lowery apartments Tuesday evening. A police officer had just asked him about the missing boy.
“I’ll help search, if they want,” he said. “I would be worried out of my mind if it was one of my (two) boys, especially on a night like this.”
Searchers and neighbors were concerned about the worsening weather Tuesday evening, as rain began to fall and a stiff cold breeze blew in from the west.
Ghassane was wearing an orange Denver Broncos hoodie and black jeans. He is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs 95 pounds, police said.
The Astor brothers, Mark, 12, and Alan, 10, walked alone on the perimeter of the apartments after nightfall.
“It’s not a bad neighborhood, but stuff can happen anywhere,” Mark said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Denver police’s missing-persons unit at 720-913-2000.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
