A 12-year-old boy has been rescued after he was kidnapped by a man he while playing Minecraft.
Paul Schickling vanished from his home in Solothum, Switzerland, a week ago, sparking an international manhunt.
Before he left, he said he planned to “go on the run”, with police searching his computer for clues of his whereabouts.
Officers discovered he was an avid player of video game Minecraft and that he’d put his personal details (like full name, address and age) online.
“My name is Paul, my hobbies are playing Minecraft and chatting with fellow players on Teamspeak,” the boy posted.
This then led to police discovering he’d been talking to a 35-year-old man in Dusseldorf, Germany, 370 miles from Paul’s home.
Officers raided the man’s apartment and found the boy hiding in the attic. It is unclear at this point if he was there against his will.
A police spokesperson also said there was a possibility he’d been sexually abused, as the German has a criminal record.
As Paul is underage, the man is facing kidnapping charges.
The 12-year-old told his parents before he left that he was going for a cycle run, and his bike was found in a town nearby.
Paul has now been reunited with his family, but Swiss telecommunications company Swisscom has used this incident to warn parents and children of the dangers of meeting people on the internet.
“It is important that parents talk about all the risks involved of being online with their children”, said a Swisscom spokesperson.
“You should be aware that although online 13-year old Marco is talking to you, in reality this can be 46-year old Klaus.”
