Any parent cannot sleep knowing that their child is not with them at night because they have gone missing.
Have you ever thought about how many children are missing?
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) stated that according to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC), “in 2020 there were 365,348 NCIC entries for missing children.”
NCMEC mentioned that,
“Unfortunately, since many children are never reported missing, there is no reliable way to determine the total number of children who are actually missing in the U.S.”
Fortunately, in a recent incident, a group of children who had become lost in the woods was successfully located.
Three children had gone missing all night after becoming disoriented in the Sam Houston National Forest, Texas.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office official Facebook account posted on Thursday, September 30, 2021, the details of the kids getting lost.
“The three missing children are two males (6 and 7 years old) and one female (6 years old). One of the missing males was wearing blue shorts and a light blue shirt and the other male was wearing khaki shorts and a light-colored shirt. The 6-year-old female was wearing a purple tank top with a mermaid logo.”
Around 8:00 P.M., deputies from the sheriff’s office were dispatched to the area of 20800 Julie Lane in Montgomery, TX.
When the officers arrived, they discovered that the three children had taken a commonly used trail. The trail connected the children’s homes. The neighborhood uses the trail to keep the kids off the main road.
It was raining outside and the kids had been missing for fourteen hours.
Imagine the tension of the parents at that time. Anxiety was increasing by the minute after a late-night search yielded no results.
Once the sun was shining, the hunt started heating up.
According to the sheriff’s office, at around 7:00 A.M., several first responder agencies and the Montgomery County Search and rescue team entered the forest to continue their search for the children.
Then, there was a miracle.
A volunteer located the children about one mile from where they entered the forest during the exhaustive search.
Following a brief interview with the children, it was discovered that they had deviated from the trail to play by a dry creek. This caused them to become disturbed with their directions.
The children also stated that their parents taught them that if they are stray, they should stay together and wait for an adult to find them.
In the bodycam footage, Sgt. Jason Smith who led the children to safety said:
“Kids, I’m the police. Are y’all ready to get out of the woods?”
He gave one of the boys his jacket.
The volunteer shared that,
“They were down in the creek bottom all night.”
Smith told them that they’d go get something to eat.
Surprisingly, the children yelled, “Cheeseburgers!”
One of the kids said, “We didn’t have any food or water.” Smith was cheering them saying, “You’re doing good, buddy!”
Finally, after a 20-minute hike, they all met up with other first responders.
Montgomery County EMS personnel examined the children and determined they were not injured. Then they allowed them to be reunited with their families.
The sheriff’s office expressed gratitude to the entire team, volunteers for the successful search.
They also thanked the community for their offers of help, overwhelming support, and prayers for the children’s safe return.
Watch the video below from Inside Edition to see the amazing journey on finding these kids!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
