FIND HIM Nicola Bulley ‘experts’ take to River Soar in desperate search for missing toddler Xielo Maruziva after he fell in
NICOLA Bulley "experts" have taken to the River Soar in the desperate search for a missing toddler.
Xielo Maruziva fell into the water in Aylestone, Leicestershire, while he was out with his family on Sunday, February 18.
The two-year-old was swept under the surface in the current before his dad jumped in to try and save him.
Sadly, nothing could be done to retrieve him from the lake and he has not been seen since.
As the search continued, police called in Peter Faulding - who helped find Nicola Bulley, 45, after she vanished on January 27 last year.
Today, the experts from Specialist Group International (SGI) joined the operation to find Xielo - following "further conversations with search specialists and Xielo's family", police said in a statement on Monday.
Leicestershire Police has already been supported by specialist diving teams from Nottinghamshire Police and Lincolnshire Police.
It comes as cops fear Xielo could have travelled a significant distance outside of Leicestershire Police's force area.
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.
"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."
Faulding, 61, said Leicestershire Police had "ignored" his offers for over a week after family members asked him to help search for little Xielo.
Xielo's grandmother, Kayela Smith said police had "refused" the help of Faulding and his team at SGI - despite him offering to search for free.
They have now called in the team's expertise, including Faulding, who has been the CEO of SGI since 1995.
Speaking on Sunday, Faulding said: "The family 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."
Faulding previously led the private search for Nicola after she disappeared while walking her dog in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire
During the search, Faulding claimed he found Nicola's body "within six minutes" and was later slammed in a report for causing "unwarranted distress."
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