Posted 9:29 am Friday, February 03, 2012
Canton Toddler Found After Hours-Long Hunt
Tyler Paper Video
By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
CANTON -- The father of a 3-year-old Canton girl expressed gratitude, relief and utter joy that his daughter was found safe Thursday after she'd been missing for hours.
"Man I'm so happy I am doing back flips. I have never been this scared in my life," Steven Smith said after Zoey and her best friend, Brownie, a pit bull dog, were found miles away from her home shortly before 7:30 p.m.
"I have seen this on TV, and about 80 percent of the time they never find them, or it ends with them finding the child dead. When it got dark, I was thinking that I was not leaving (the search). I was going to keep looking," he said.
Van Zandt County Sheriff Pat Burnett also was elated at the news.
Burnett had said just minutes earlier that the child, who wandered away from her grandmother's home on County Road 4207 south of Canton Thursday shortly before 1 p.m., was nowhere to be found.
"We have searched wells, septic tanks, ponds, storage buildings, cars and houses. I can say with confidence that she is not in these woods, and we will be expanding our search. We are ending the search here tonight," he said of the search at that location.
Burnett's words could not have been truer as Zoey was found several miles from the main search location at a farm house on Farm-to-Market Road 2909.
"She just showed up with her dog, and the people there called us, and we went and got her. We have her now and (are) taking her to her mother," he said. "She's a little wet, but she's OK."
After she was found, Zoey was taken to a Tyler hospital as a precaution. Child Protective Services workers also questioned her.
Her father said, "She looks exhausted and shook up, but she appears to be OK. God, I'm happy."
The ordeal began shortly before 1 p.m. when Zoey and her pit bull, Brownie, left the house together in search of another of the family's dogs given away earlier in the day, Burnett said.
The sheriff said the child's grandmother immediately began looking for the girl.
"She said she looked between 5 to 20 minutes before they called us," he said.
Burnett said tha as soon as the call came, resources began converging on the area.
"We have the (Department of Public Safety), all of my department, multiple fire departments, all of the constable offices, game wardens and police departments from around the area and the ALERT Academy. The DPS helicopter is using heat-seeking cameras to pick up on her body heat," he said.
As the hours passed, the search intensified as new volunteers arrived to lend a hand. Burnett and the 100-plus men and women knew they were racing the clock, and bad weather was predicted for the area.
But as darkness fell and a light rain began, they seemed no closer to finding the child.
"She's my little monkey, and I just want her to be OK. I just want them to find her, because I know she is scared," Smith said, crying. "She means the world to me."
Ambling off with members of law enforcement, the girl's father was led to an area where family members were being questioned.
Neighbor Ron Green said he and his sons began searching for the child when they heard the grandmother's cries for help.
Green said his son tore into the house, saying help was needed.
He said they ran through the woods to find the child.
Looking down at his scratched and cut bare legs, the man said, "I really didn't think about it. We just wanted to find the child."
Burnett called the search the largest in his 11-year sheriff's stint.
"I've never been a part of a search this large. Everyone worked together with one goal in mind," he said. "The dog stayed with her the whole time and kept her safe."
Smith said he appreciated the help.
Laughing, Smith said he would have to train Brownie the dog to stay around the house instead of taking long walks.
"She needs to be on house arrest or something," he joked about his daughter's dog.
Thinking for a moment when asked what he thought about the ordeal and the way his daughter was found, Smith replied, "God had her in his hands."
