AUSTIN, Man. — RCMP say it's too early to say whether foul play is involved in the disappearance of a two-year-old boy in rural Manitoba.
Mounties say their only priority right now is to find Chase Martens.
"We're talking ... of a little two-year-old boy who's out playing and all of a sudden is just not there anymore. (We're) asking for any information from the public at this point," Sgt. Bert Paquet said Wednesday.
"We've often solved cases similar to this with very minute pieces of information."
Chase was last seen playing at 6 p.m. Tuesday night outside his home in the Austin area, about 130 kilometres west of Winnipeg. Temperatures around Austin dropped to -12 C overnight.
He was wearing a blue jacket, black splash pants, a red hat and boots that light up as he walks. He is described as being 2 1/2 feet tall and weighing 30 pounds. He has blue eyes and light-brown hair.
Paquet said the search for Chase includes more than 300 volunteers and officers, firefighters, police dogs, the Winnipeg police department's helicopter and an RCMP plane.
"We are looking for anything and everything out of the ordinary — something that makes your Spidey sense go 'this might be relevant.'"
Paquet said there are enough searchers at the moment.
"We have enough trained people and people who are not trained but supervised, assisting in our efforts. We are satisfied that we have the right amount of people."
He suggested anyone who wishes to help at this point should pray.
"We are doing the same, and we are doing everything we can to bring Chase home."
Austin is about 130 kilometres west of Winnipeg.
