Massive search underway for Tel Aviv woman missing after her son died
Over 100 volunteers, police searching for Sivan Lavi, whose 12-year-old died Thursday in a tragic accident
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
Hundreds of volunteers and police were searching the Tel Aviv area for a woman who went missing Saturday, days after her 12-year-old son died in a tragic accident.
Police appealed for the public’s assistance in finding Sivan Lavi amid concern for her life.
A force of over 150 police officers and volunteers were searching for Lavi, who left her mother’s Givatayim apartment Saturday morning, in what police described as a distraught state.
Lavi and her son were lightly injured in a house fire in the Kiryat Haim neighborhood of Tel Aviv on Tuesday. The two returned to the damaged apartment two days later, where they were apparently exposed to harmful chemicals released as a result of the fire.
After not making contact for several hours, Lavi’s mother came over and found her daughter in a confused state and the grandson unconscious.
Paramedics pronounced the 12-year-old dead at the scene, while Lavi was taken to Ichilov Hospital with light injuries.
Police said Lavi is not suspected in the death of her son.
נמשכים החיפושים אחר הנעדרת סיון לביא. עשרות שוטרים מכלל המחוז וכן למעלה ממאה מתנדבים סורקים את הרחובות, הסימטאות, הפארקים, חוף הים וכו' pic.twitter.com/X8jyp9uLuy
— דסק חדשות און ליין (@yosefbadichi) April 8, 2017
The search for Lavi extended from Givatayim to Tel Aviv, and focused around the area of the Ariel Sharon Park.
Coordinating the volunteer search efforts was Tel Aviv City Council member Ophira Yochanan-Wolk, who told the Ynet news website that “over 150 volunteers showed up in the first wave.”
“Later in the evening, even more volunteers came to help search the parks around the grandmother’s house in Givatayim,” she said.
Lavi was last seen wearing grey pants, a brown shirt and red sneakers.
Police asked anyone with information that might be helpful in locating the missing woman to call 03-630-4444 or the police hotline at 100.
The body of Lavi’s son will undergo an autopsy at the Abu Kabir Medical center to determine the cause of his death. Authorities suspect he died from smoke inhalation or exposure to a toxic substance.
The Times of Israel Community.