WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WKRC) – Icy and snowy conditions have impacted search and rescue efforts for the missing 6-year-old boy in West Chester.

Joshua Al-Lateef disappeared more than 28 hours ago after returning from school. He was last seen wearing a beige shirt, beige pants, black New Balance shoes and a jacket.

Emergency services ended at 3 a.m. and resumed at 8 a.m. Thursday morning. It was cold on Wednesday as it is now, and that made the police even more worried. Joshua loves the water and is not dressed for the cold.

There was a brief period earlier Thursday where a helicopter was able to fly safely, but it was snowing again, causing difficulties. Today, hundreds of volunteers are returning home for their own safety and letting search and rescue teams take over.

West Chester’s fire chief and police chief said they are doubling efforts at places they’ve already visited, including the numerous retention ponds near Lakefront in the West Chester apartment complex Chester.

“All these retention ponds are very silty. They’re murky. There’s no vision. It’s totally dark. You can’t see your hand in front of your face. Literally, it’s just that murky. It’s cold and it’s dark so literally, this job is literally done by feeling,” said Rick Prinz, Chief of the West Chester Fire Department.

Prinz said no one has doorbell footage with Joshua in it. They even checked the school bus’s security camera to confirm what he was last wearing. Police searched north to Princeton Road, south to Kemper Road, east to Cincinnati-Dayton Road and west to Bypass 4.

The head of the training office said in total it was a radius of 15 to 20 square miles.

“We’re going to ask you to drive on the streets. Obviously it’s very wet outside, with the snow falling, and the traffic isn’t the best. So we’re asking everyone to use safety as a precaution. precaution,” said Trevor Frodge, chief of training for the West Chester Fire Department.

Both leaders said they were in contact with the family. They thank all the volunteers who came to help with the search. Many local businesses and residents stepped up to donate food, drinks and supplies.

The effort will resume at 8 a.m. Friday at the Mulhauser Barn in Beckett Park.