A Florida toddler is home safe after wandering away from his home Thursday and has been reunited with his family.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis identified the boy Thursday afternoon as Joshua “JJ” Rowland and said at the time, he had not been found despite an extensive search with horses, drones, helicopters K-9s, ATVs, and at least 50 first responders from surrounding agencies.
That all changed Friday morning when U.S. Marine Corps veteran Roy Link, who was part of a volunteer search team, found JJ close to a middle school on Cobb Road in Brooksville, News Channel 8 reports.
Caller: “Hey, I found him.”
911 Dispatcher: “You found him? Where are you at?”
Caller: “He’s alive. He’s doing well. I’m giving him some water and he’s wanting mama.”
“He’s got some scratches, some scrapes and bruises but over 24 hours in the woods, yeah, he did great.”
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Sheriff Al Nienhuis told local reports that JJ was OK and was smiling after roughing it overnight alone in the wild.
“He’s definitely gonna have something to tell his kids and grandkids about,” Nienhuis said. “I think a lot of people were praying, and prayer works.”
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[Featured image via Hernando County Sheriff’s Office]
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