Footprints give SAR for missing Orang Asli pupils hope

GUA MUSANG: The search for the seven missing Orang Asli children who disappeared from Sekolah Kebangsaan Pos Tohoi here entered its 10th day today with a source from the fire and rescue department who is also in the search and rescue team saying that they found footprints that seem to be from children along their search route yesterday.
He said the footprints are sporadic but there is still hope.
“The footprints seem to be that of children but are not clear. Sometimes the footprints appear and disappear along the trail sporadically,” he said.
“We followed the footprints for about 8km today and we had to stop because of nightfall,” he added. He also said that with this new lead, the prospect of finding them will remain strong.
The search is expected to continue today at the break of dawn.
Earlier, the only clue search and rescue teams had to go by was the sock they found on Tuesday.
Gua Musang police chief Supt Saiful Bahari Abdullah said search efforts have been concentrated around an 800m radius from where the sock was found.
There is currently a team of 45 people split into four teams that are searching for the missing children.
They are made up of the police, Fire and Rescue Department, Rela officials, Civil Defence Department, National Registration Department and villagers from the Tohoi post.
However, what may hamper search efforts is that the search teams themselves are in dire need of medical assistance and food.
Kelantan Orang Asli youth chief Dendi Johari is urging the Health Ministry to send medical teams to support the volunteers in their arduous search and rescue efforts.