FIND HIM
Nicola Bulley ‘experts’ take to River Soar in desperate search for missing toddler Xielo Maruziva after he fell in
Cops believe Xielo could have travelled outside their force area
NICOLA Bulley "experts" have taken to the River Soar as the desperate search for a missing toddler continues.
Expert diver Peter Faulding, who helped locate the missing mum in February last year, has now joined the team looking for two-year-old Xielo Maruziva.
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The youngster fell into the fast-flowing river in Aylestone, Leicestershire, while out with family on Sunday, February 18 and has not been seen since.
Today, experts from Specialist Group International (SGI) - headed by Faulding - joined the operation to find him as a result of "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 and Lincolnshire as cops fear Xielo could have travelled a significant distance outside of their 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.
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"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 - who helped find missing mum Nicola Bulley, 45, after she vanished on January 27 last year - said Leicestershire Police had "ignored" his offers for help for over a week after family members asked him to help search for little Xielo.
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Xielo's grandmother, Kayela Smith, said police had "refused" the help of Faulding, 61, and his team at SGI - despite him offering to search for free.
Speaking on Sunday, Faulding, who has been the CEO of SGI since 1995, said: "The family pleaded with me to help them search.
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"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."
Little Xielo was swept under the surface in the current before his dad jumped in to try and save him.
The tragic accident sparked a major search operation around the river and flooded fields nearby.
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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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