Person spotted by witness is not teenager sought over boy's killing, say German police

Police hunting for a 19-year-old suspect who boasted online about the killing of a nine-year-old boy have searched a hospital in western Germany, but came up empty-handed.

A witness had tipped off police, saying he had seen suspect Marcel Hesse at a hospital in Moenchengladbach, 80 kilometres (50 miles) south-west of Herne, where the boy was killed on Monday night, the dpa news agency said.