A missing two-year-old girl who disappeared from her family home was miraculously found a mile away in woodlands by a deer hunter who heard her crying.
Toddler Sara Alice Grice had slipped out of the house in Prosperity, North Carolina State, USA, while her father saw her gran off after a family visit.
Mekayla and Gary Grice told local media that their daughter was napping when they left the back door open to say goodbye on 22nd October.
Mum Mekayla said: “Gary’s mother was visiting us. He walked her out to the car.
“Within four minutes of his mother pulling out, he came inside and said, ‘Where’s Sarah?’.”
After calling police, Sara’s horrified parents realised deer hunters were active in the woods around their home.
Mekaykla said: “It was a scary thought because what if someone sees movement and doesn’t realise it’s a child?”
But astonishingly, police contacted the family three hours later to say a hunter had called in to report a child crying.
Sara’s mum said: “Someone came over the radio and said a hunter had called 911 about a child and they said, ‘Hold for description’.
“They returned with the description and it matched what she was wearing.
“So we immediately jumped up and a police officer went running and we just had to wait until they could get to her.
Police eventually found Sara completely unharmed in a woodland clearing being cared for by a group of hunters.
Newberry County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement obtained by CEN: “Around 6:00pm, a deer hunter heard her crying. He called Newberry County 911, which began to track them through our mapping technology.
“This information was transmitted to a SLED helicopter and the first responders.
“A search team found the hunters and the little girl in a wooded area almost a mile from her home.
“She was transported to a waiting Sheriff’s Office vehicle, which took her to a Newberry County EMS Ambulance.
“Other than being tired, thirsty, and frightened, the little girl was in good shape. A truly miraculous find.
“We thank all the first responders, citizens, clergy, and people offering prayers for your help. It was truly a miraculous find.
“Emergency Service personnel from all over the county participated along with the Sheriff’s Office, Newberry City Police, and SLED. Thank you all.”
