AMBER ROSE SMITH - 2 yo - Paris, MI

AMBER ALERT: Authorities search woods for missing Michigan girl, 2



Amber Rose Smith
By The Associated Press

Posted: 10/09/13, 6:25 AM EDT | Updated: 1 week, 2 days ago


BARTON TOWNSHIP (AP) — Authorities are searching a heavily wooded area for a 2-year-old girl who is believed to have wandered away from her home in rural western Michigan.

An Amber Alert was issued for the child on Tuesday and Newaygo County dispatch says the search is ongoing Wednesday morning.
The child was reported missing Tuesday afternoon from her home in Barton Township, near the edge of the Manistee National Forest and about 55 miles north of Grand Rapids. MLive.com reports helicopters, four wheelers and dogs were being used as part of the search.

WOOD-TV reports the search was started as one square mile, but broadened late Tuesday. Crews from neighboring Kent County also joined the search.

http://www.dailytribune.com/general-news/20131009/amber-alert-authorities-search-woods-for-missing-michigan-girl-2

 Amber Rose Smith: How mother's fear turned to joy when missing 2-year-old was found
October 10, 2013 at 11:40 AM


NEWAYGO COUNTY, MI - The parents of 2-year-old Amber Rose Smith allowed their minds to entertain dark thoughts while rescuers searched overnight for the girl who wandered off from her northern Newaygo County home and trekked nearly two miles in the woods while barely clothed.

"You got your mind going, racing. You don't know whether or not she's going to be alive or dead. You have that stuff going through your mind," said Diane Smith, Amber's mother.

Amber's family, police and a group of 300 people, many concerned strangers, capped a stressful and frantic 24 hours with a happy ending Wednesday when searchers found the toddler, clad in only a tank top, standing next to a fallen tree along a two-track road.

Once at the hospital for evaluation, Amber simply wanted some hot chocolate.

The girl was treated for minor scrapes and bruises, but she otherwise appeared fine after walking through a heavily wooded area without shoes and surviving overnight temperatures that dipped to 43 degrees.

"This is the best day of our lives," Smith said Wednesday, Oct. 9. "I can't ask for more."

Amber wandered off from her Barton Township home about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8. Her father, Dale Smith, told authorities he was in a separate room from Amber, and when he walked to where she was, she was gone. Smith searched for the girl for about a half hour before calling 911.

Amber had walked out of the house before, but family members had found her without incident, relatives told police.

Initially, only authorities searched the area near her home at 13 Mile Road and Cottonwood Avenue, using search dogs and helicopters. Volunteers were asked to join the effort at 11 p.m. Tuesday. An Amber Alert was issued late that night.
amberrosesmith.jpgNewaygo County Emergency Services

Volunteers on Wednesday continued to comb a mile of dense wooded area near Amber's home while cars of others eager to help formed long lines near Hawkins Township Hall, where Newaygo County Emergency Services personnel organized volunteer teams. About 200 people from the public assisted, said Abby Watkins, emergency services director.

Not long before Amber was located at 1:40 p.m., Newaygo County Undersheriff Brian Boyd said at a press conference that it was "very suspicious" the search at that point hadn't turned up a trace of the missing toddler.

Sheriff's deputies said state Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Mike Wells was the first to find Amber on the edge of a two-track road. Wells was among a group of about seven people riding off-road vehicles.

Conservation Officer Jeff Ginn approached the girl. She was crying, but calmed soon after she realized she was safe.

Ginn wrapped the toddler in a jacket and gave her water before she was loaded into an ORV and taken to the nearest road for a waiting ambulance.

"Words cannot describe the feeling, they just can't," Ginn said. "This is why we do what we do."

Newaygo County sheriff's Deputy David Israel was among the group and said "it was unbelievable" to see the child "completely calm." The elated searchers offered high-fives to one another.

Authorities were surprised Amber was found safe and without injuries after a long walk and a night alone.

"It's hard to imagine how a 2 1/2-year-old can survive that distance through the woods with that kind of temperature," Boyd said.

Amber apparently traveled east from her home at 13 Mile Road near Cottonwood Avenue and south at Beech Avenue. She ended up near Cedar Avenue and 12 Mile Road, about 1 3/4 miles southeast of her home. Amber crossed at least one road, Boyd said.

Watkins said a positive outcome is not common for the given conditions.

"It's amazing to have the outcome that we did. It's a rarity when we're able to actually locate somebody alive, especially after 24 hours and have her be so young," Watkins said.

Authorities will conduct a follow-up investigation delving into why Amber was able to walk off alone this time and in the past.

"Of course the fact that she did wander away from the house, that’s a concern. It’s going to be a follow up with the family and I’m sure over the next few days there will be quite a few more interviews," Boyd said.

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2013/10/how_amber_rose_smith.html

Hi Ladibug.  I was trying to post this when my computer started acting up.  When I got the problem solved, you had beat me to it.  Thanks.

Thank god this beautiful angel was found safe! I hope the parents will install child locks and keep a better eye on her.