A 10-year-old child was recovered safe on Wednesday afternoon after going missing while playing in the woods the day before.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office announced that the youngster had been found just after 1 p.m. on April 16.
During the search, authorities said that the youngster had been playing in the area south of Highway 101 near Blue Mountain Road in Clallam County on April 15, and was last seen moving into the woods at 4 p.m.
Clallam County Sheriff’s Office deputies and search and rescue teams from Clallam, Jefferson, and Kitsap counties launched a massive search over a nearly 24-hour period.
The sheriff’s office said that the boy had recently undergone a kidney transplant and required medicine, which heightened the urgency of the hunt.
In a social media post, the boy’s grandma stated that he enjoys hiding and requested that searchers look behind sheds, boats, and cars. The grandma stated that the family is from North Carolina and is unfamiliar with the area.
This includes structures and ponds. K-9 teams and Jefferson County deputies armed with drones are also participating in the search.
“This is a very rural area. People have a lot of outbuildings, they have a lot of places that a child could hide. He might be passed out. We need people to get out there and search their properties and search their ponds and report back. Call 911 if they have any indication that they know where he is,” said Clallam County Undersheriff Lorraine Shore.
Crews of searchers swept through the woods, barns, and ponds, while a helicopter and drones searched from above.
While the CCSO did not go into detail about the boy’s finding, they did say he was safe and thanked searchers and the community for their support.
