A 4-year-old child who had gone missing last weekend in Polk County was found safe, Oregon State Police reported.
Troopers from Salem and McMinnville responded to Grand Ronde to help look for the little boy, who at about 5:30 p.m. Feb. 3 had wandered away from his home on property that includes 20 acres of thick vegetation.
The conditions were cold and dark and there had reportedly been predator attacks on livestock on the property, OSP said.
A trooper found the boy near a pullout on Highway 18 about 1 mile west of the property. The trooper had separated from the main search team to look in the vicinity of the highway, OSP said.
“At about 9:30 p.m., he located the child who asked, ‘Can you take me home?’” OSP reported. “The child was evaluated by medical personnel on scene and reunited with his grateful family. The child had minor injuries from a fall, however, was otherwise uninjured.”
The child had been missing for about two hours when law enforcement officers from numerous agencies arrived on scene to assist with the search. In all, the child had been alone for about four hours.
“We are grateful this child was found so quickly and unharmed,” OSP Capt. Kyle Kennedy said. “We appreciate the compassion and dedication displayed by our troopers and all the responding personnel. We know how distressing this situation was for this child and his family and are glad of the positive outcome.”
Personnel from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office, Salem Police Department, Grand Ronde Tribal Police, Polk County Fire District, Polk County Search and Rescue and OSP participated in the search.