Missing Flordia Toddler Found Alive After Spending 24 Hours In The Woods

A volunteer successfully found a missing 2-year-old some 24 hours after the child went missing.

The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office shared about the missing child case on Facebook, saying the 2-year-old boy, Joshua “JJ” Rowland, disappeared from his home on February 23.

Around an hour after he went missing, his parents called the police for help and a search party was quickly activated. Unfonrautely, hours of searching turned up nothing.

The sheriff’s department made it clear they were doing all they could to find JJ, including pulling from outside resources. They wrote on Facebook, “We have law enforcement on foot and in vehicles, drones, aviation, K-9s from HCSO, Pasco K-9, and Citrus K-9, the HCSO Mounted Unit, and deputies on side by sides. Every available resource is out searching at this time.”

Even with all of those resources, JJ was still MIA, and the department called in a dive team to search bodies of water near where he went missing. With thick woods, swamps, and lakes nearby, the chances of JJ staying slim on his own seemed slim.

Things became even grimmer when night approached and the young boy still hadn’t been found. Eventually, the search was called off for the night and everyone prayed a miracle might happen the next morning – and it did!

Around 24 hours after JJ disappeared, volunteer Roy Link called 911 with great news: He’d found JJ!

According to ABC News, the small child seemed in decent shape considering he’d spent the night alone in the Florida woods. Even so, he was quickly escorted to a hospital for a check-up.

It’s a story that really could’ve had a sad ending, but somehow, things all worked out for the good.