Missing Doaktown boy found safe after hours-long search
A 10-year-old boy from Doaktown who hadn't been seen since Sunday afternoon has been found, the community's mayor says.
The boy was found safe by an Irving helicopter that was helping with the search. He is now with family after being checked out by paramedics, Arthur O'Donnell said.
RCMP have also confirmed the boy was found safe but did not provide details on where he was found or by whom.
An RCMP news release posted earlier Monday had said police were concerned for the boy's safety and appealed for help from the public.
Doaktown Mayor Arthur O'Donnell said the boy is with family now that he has been found. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
Family told reporters on the scene that they weren't interested in being interviewed.
O'Donnell said a relative of the boy's is on the village's council and she spoke to him this morning. O'Donnell said the family is relieved he has been found.
"They're over the worst part of the ordeal," he said.
O'Donnell said he wasn't sure where the boy was located.
At the conclusion of the search, RCMP thanked Irving Woodlands, the Doaktown Fire Department, the Natural Resources Department, New Brunswick EMO, several search and rescue teams, and the public for their help.
Bradley Parker, a search manager and volunteer with York Sunbury Search and Rescue, said multiple teams were involved in the search. He got a call at around 11:45 p.m. Sunday night and searched all night.
Parker said the search drew a lot of support.
Bradley Parker, a search manager and volunteer with York Sunbury Search and Rescue, said the search drew a lot of support. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
"These are the kinds of things that make it all worth the training and the time getting out there, you know, fundraising, practising, getting ready," he said.
"To have everyone, all these folks, come together and just that outpouring of support and community to come together and to make a difference, and, you know, save life."
Parker said he met the helicopter that picked up the boy and he was in good spirits, telling "quite the story."
Search and rescue volunteer Shantelle Leslie arrived to search at around 1:30 a.m. Monday. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
Shantelle Leslie, who is also with York Sunbury Search and Rescue, said she feels great about the outcome.
She was part of the team that arrived on scene around 1:30 a.m.
"If he wasn't found yet, then we would continue to search," she said.
"It's one night, somebody's found for the family, for the community, it's good. It's what I signed up to do."
