Missing Mo. boy found alive

ST. LOUIS -- A 3-year-old Southeast Missouri boy missing for more than two days was found alive Wednesday afternoon three miles from his rural home. A volunteer found Joshua Childers in the rugged terrain of the Mark Twain National Forest, Madison County Sheriff David Lewis said. The boy had slipped out of his house more than 50 hours earlier, wearing a T-shirt, sneakers and a pull-up diaper. Joshua was taken to the Iron County Hospital in Pilot Knob at 4:42 p.m. for evaluation in the emergency room. Hospital chief executive officer Ed Gast said the initial assessment was that the boy was in fair condition. It wasn't immediately clear whether he would remain for observation. "The parents would like to thank everyone who has assisted in the search and treatment of Joshua, and they ask that their privacy be protected at this time," Gast said. Joshua wandered away about 11:30 a.m. Monday from his parents' home near the small, secluded town of Arcadia, about 100 miles southwest of St. Louis. The couple searched for about 45 minutes before calling police, setting off a massive search that lasted through the night and into Tuesday and Wednesday. So many people wanted to help find the 35-pound boy that willing individuals were held back at the staging area, Lewis said. "Today we brought in professional rescue people," he said. "We tried to cover everything again and widened the scope." They searched the area by land grids and water, with dogs, divers and sonar equipment. Rain and cool temperatures worsened search conditions. Sometime after 4 p.m. local time, the boy was found in a hollow, a creek bottom area off Route D, three miles from his home. He was immediately taken to the hospital, Lewis said. He described the Mark Twain National Forest as "really rough country," consisting of steep ravines, creeks and rugged rocks. "I'm so happy, you can't believe it," Lewis said. "I'm going to go home and take a shower and go to bed." Rick Stockham, a neighbor of Joshua's grandmother, told KSDK-TV in St. Louis that the woman had been "begging God to see that little boy alive one more time. "She got her wish," he said. Stockham described Joshua as a "tough little kid" and resilient. He said conditions were wet and muddy with creek levels that would have been up to the boy's chest. "The rain was here, the dogs couldn't smell, it's a miracle they found him," he said. On Monday evening a searcher found a tennis shoe that the boy's parents confirmed he was wearing when he slipped away from home. Lewis said the shoe was found nearly a mile from the family's mobile home in the forest. Joshua's father works an overnight shift and was home sleeping late Monday morning. His mother was watching the child but was briefly distracted. That's when the boy got out.