Police in Romania search for three siblings missing since 29 October in Sălaj county

The disappearance

Three siblings went missing on Thursday, 29 October 2026, after leaving a vacant plot of land in Borla, a village in the commune of Bocșa in Sălaj county. The group is made up of two brothers, aged 11 and 13, and their 12-year-old sister. Police at Rural Police Section 1 in Zalău were notified at about 16:30, and the Criminal Investigation Service in Sălaj took over the case. According to Pro TV, the children's mother had alerted police shortly after 16:00, worried that she could no longer find them.

Search operation

Searches began on Thursday and continued through the night. Officers from the criminal investigation service, the traffic service, Zalău city police and two rural police sections were deployed, alongside officers from Cluj, gendarmes from Cluj and volunteers from the CERT association. Police said the operation is focused on the areas where the children could have moved or where there are indications they might be.

In its update, the county police stressed the priority of the operation:

“The searches were carried out throughout the night and are continuing now, in order to locate the missing persons.”

Public alert

At 11:00 on Friday, 30 October, authorities sent a RO-Alert message to residents of Sălaj and Cluj counties. Police also issued a Missing Child Alert and asked anyone with information about the children's whereabouts to contact the nearest police unit. The emergency number 112 was given as the channel for reports, and the county police appeal was phrased as follows:

“Anyone who may have information about where the three minors could be should contact the nearest police unit or call the free single emergency number 112.”

Possible circumstances

Sources do not yet explain what happened. Pro TV reports, citing a social worker at the town hall, that the mother worked and lived at a farmer's sheepfold in the area, and that the children had been staying with their father in a village in Cluj county before she asked them to stay with her a few days earlier. Investigators are weighing several hypotheses, including the possibility that the siblings tried to return to their father in the neighbouring county. Another report, citing unnamed sources, says the children may have run away from the sheepfold.

Clothing details and an earlier case

Police have released clothing details for each child. The 11-year-old boy was last seen in a black jacket, the 13-year-old boy in a grey tracksuit, and the 12-year-old girl in pink trousers with black stripes. One report also recalls a September search in Vâlcea county, where two 13-year-old minors who had left home voluntarily on the night of 11 to 12 September were found safe with the help of a police tracking dog.