HANOVER COUNTY, VA (WTVR) - Robert Wood Jr. has been found alive following a six-day search in the woods north of Richmond, Vir., confirmed Batt. Chief Willie Jones with the Hanover County Fire Department.Robert was found at approximately 2 p.m. in a creek bed at the Martin Marietta quarry, under a mile from where he was last seen. The eight-year-old boy is said to be in good condition and has been helicopter lifted to the Medical College of Virginia.
Robert is in the emergency room being evaluated and treated.
"He was in serious but good shape," said Lt. Col. David Hines, who said that Robert was found by a citizen volunteer.
Robert was reportedly found in the fetal position and with all his clothes still on, said Hines.
He could be treated for anything from malnutrition to hypothermia in this situation said a doctor. Temperatures dropped very low several nights, and the forecast called for falling temperatures, sleet and light snow ahead for the weekend.
Staff and parents are at MCV waiting to get information to piece together how Robert wound up in that location, Hanover Sheriff's Captain Mike Trice said.
"I knew something was happening that was powerful and was fortunate to be part of the team when he was found," said Trice, who also said the helicopter "just couldn't get there fast enough, land fast enough."
It is possible that Robert crossed Verdon Road and wound up in the quarry, and that would explain why search crews found little evidence of the boy in the search grids.
Robert has autism and does not speak, a factor which had complicated the search. There was concern that search crews would startle him and make him run.
Officials have said that Robert had a fascination with the water. The North Anna Nuclear Plant helped aid in the search effort by lowering the water.
Search teams placed survial kits, with blankets and food rations, throughout the forests and they were illuminated with glowsticks.
Police said Robert ran away from his family around 2:45 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 23. [STORY: Read the orginal story that CBS6 first broke on the missing boy]
He was hiking with his father, younger brother and his father's girlfriend on one of the wooded trails along an 80-acre Civil War battlefield in Hanover County.
Adam Warman, with the Faison School for Autism, that Robert attends, said that cheers rang out through the school when the announcement was made over the loudspeaker that Robert had been found.
"They started yelling and cheering, and crying," said Warman.
The six-day search operation took place on land, water and air. [PHOTOS: Dive teams and dogs search North Anna River for missing boy]
Helicopters flew through the park and surrounding areas, using thermal imaging at night. The orginal search parameters, limited to the park's 80-acres, were extended to over 20 square miles.
Since the park backs up to the water, boats searched the North Anna River.
Since Tuesday, Oct. 25, thousands have shown up to volunteer for the missing boy. On Friday, Oct. 28, 600 returning volunteers showed up to search, and 600 new volunteers were deployed.
"Never been involved in a search with this many volunteers," Hines said.
Trice had said earlier in the week at a press event that Hanover had never seen an operation like this. Hundreds of citizens and agencies coordinated in the efforts and volunteered to help search for the missing boy. It was a regional effort.
1 comment:
Such wonderful news! Bless his little heart.
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