A search was underway on Saturday for a Texas teenager, who family members fear was lured away from a cruise ship while it was docked in Germany.
Aydin Brown, 14, has been missing since 7 a.m. Thursday, when he disembarked from the Caribbean Princess in Rostock-Warnemünd, a port town on the Baltic Sea some two hours north of Berlin, according to local authorities.
While Aydin, who’d reportedly been traveling with his grandmother, appeared to leave the vessel on his own, police said they’re searching for a witness, likely between 20 and 25 years old, who may have crossed paths with the teen at the train station in Warnemünde.
In the days since his disappearance, Aydin’s loved ones have been sharing updates on social media, including an image from surveillance video that “shows him 25 minutes after leaving the ship [Thursday] at the train station with [a] blonde-haired man.”
Authorities told the concerned family there was no evidence to suggest Aydin boarded a train, despite being seen at the station.
“It remains believed he was lured away from his family by a stalker/predator,” Aydin’s grandmother said early Saturday.
Another family member described Aydin as “autistic, vulnerable and a gamer,” adding “it’s assumed he was targeted by a European predator in the gaming world.”
Authorities have not said whether they believe Aydin was taken.
Princess Cruises said that it was actively working with local law enforcement in their search, and had made arrangements for Aydin’s mother to fly out to Germany.
