Press Release from Lt. Kris Stancil of Pickens County Sheriff’s Office regarding missing child:July 30, 2013: The Pickens Sheriff’s Office responded to a missing child at approximately 4:00 pm, on Tuesday, July 30, 2013. The child had gone missing from his parents’ home in the Hobson Road area of Jasper Georgia. The initial report indicated that the child was a three year old white male. It was also learned that the young boy had been diagnosed with autism. The boy had blonde hair and was last seen at around 12 noon.

The first deputy responding immediately worked on setting up an incident command near the home
and search and rescue crews began searching the wooded area around the home. Once the search was
in full operation, responders from the Pickens Sheriff’s Office, Pickens County Fire Department,
Pickens County Emergency Management, Pickens Emergency Medical Technicians, the Jasper Fire
Department, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Georgia State Patrol, Life Light air
services and GSP helicopters and many others were involved in the search. In all, more than 55 total
responders were assisting.

After approximately 2 hours of searching, a neighbor located approximately one mile from the location
found the boy playing in the stream. The neighbor, who wishes to remain anonymous, stated that he
had begun searching his pastures on an all terrain vehicle after learning of the missing boy. He said
he located him playing in the creek that bordered the pasture. He immediately notified the responders
and brought him to the staging area.

Sheriff Craig stated “We could not have asked for a better ending to the day.” He went on to say “I
was extremely pleased with the way so many agencies responded and how well they worked under
such difficult circumstance.” With the temperature, wooded area, and the emotional connection of a
young child with special needs, this was an excellent display of incident response from several
agencies. Craig added “I want to thank all of the first responders and the citizens that helped make
today a good day.”

As for the anonymous volunteer, he stated “I’m not a hero or anything, I just did what anybody
would do…..God truly blessed us today.”