An unspecified number of people, including children, reported missing in Germany, have been traced by accident in Marsalforn.

They were found after the police were called to assist a six-year old boy seen wandering alone in a field in Marsalforn on Tuesday.

In a brief statement last night containing very little information, the police said that when the boy was discovered investigations indicated he was living in Marsalforn together with other people who had been reported missing by the German authorities. They did not say how many people there were and no details about the sex or age were given either.

The police said they were now in contact with the German authorities about the case.

“Police investigations are ongoing and it is not prudent to comment,” the police said.

The children are now under the custody of social welfare agency Appoġġ and were yesterday expected to be transferred from Gozo to a “secure” location in Malta, sources told Times of Malta.

Unconfirmed reports said that in Marsalforn the police discovered a German couple together with three women and five children, including two boys and a girl – aged five and six – who had been reported missing by their fathers in Germany.

The couple reportedly denied any wrongdoing and claimed that they were hosting the women together with the children as part of a German NGO that offered shelter for victims of domestic violence.