Police search for missing Jerusalem yeshiva student
Volunteers join cops to scour forest in hunt for Aaron Sofer, who vanished Friday
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleStuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
Police intensified the search on Sunday for a yeshiva student who disappeared last week while hiking with a friend in the Jerusalem Forest.
Aaron Sofer, 23, was last seen on Friday at midday.
Sofer was described by police as being 1.75 meters tall, with a short red beard, glasses, black pants, a white shirt and a black kippa.
According to the Yeshiva World website, Sofer is from Lakewood, New Jersey.
Dozens of volunteers began searching for Sofer on Saturday night and renewed their efforts in greater numbers the following morning.
Search and rescue units and a police canine unit also joined the hunt, which is focused on the Jerusalem Forest area to the west of the capital.
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Search parties began scouring the forest as well as the Bayit Vegan, Hadassah, and Ein Kerem neighborhoods, all of which overlook parts of the forest.
ZAKA rescue and recovery unit volunteers said that it was unclear what could have happened to Sofer. He is known to have visited the Jerusalem forest with a friend on Friday and they hiked in the forest. At some point Sofer went down a slope by himself and since then there has been no trace of him.
Police asked that anyone with information that might be helpful in locating the missing student call 02-5391520.
The Times of Israel Community.