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State trooper miraculously spots missing toddler on mountain top just before nightfall
When the trooper finally had the frightened two-year-old in his arms - she refused to let go.
Irene Markianou
12.30.22

Children love running in the woods and exploring the nature around them, but if they are not careful or if their parents lose sight of them for a moment, they can easily get lost there.

Lukasz Szmigiel
Source:
Lukasz Szmigiel

Losing track of your child can be scary at the shopping mall, imagine a place full of trees and wild nature, where the child cannot address anyone for help.

For both sides, it can be a terrifying experience, but sometimes, sadly, it happens.

Like in the case of a 2-year-old who went missing into the woods in South Bristol a while ago.

YouTube - News 8 WROC
Source:
YouTube - News 8 WROC

The toddler’s family could not track her down, so they called the authorities to help them search for the little girl.

Indeed, Troopers from SP Canandaigua assisted the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office in the search for the girl, and they knew from the very first moment that it would be a battle against time.

YouTube - News 8 WROC
Source:
YouTube - News 8 WROC

As Trooper Brian Hotchkiss told News 8 WROC, once it gets dark in the mountains, everything changes.

The temperature drops dramatically and a child as young as two years old can find it hard to survive in these conditions.

“It can go really bad,” the trooper said. “It’s very time-sensitive depending on the year.”

YouTube - News 8 WROC
Source:
YouTube - News 8 WROC

So, they came up with a plan.

After searching around town, three troopers, including Hotchkiss, decided to climb up the mountains to make sure they had tried everything before the night fell.

As they were climbing up, they saw the streams and ponds and everything that they were most worried about in their search for the toddler.

YouTube - News 8 WROC
Source:
YouTube - News 8 WROC

Indeed, it took the men about an hour to get to the top of the mountain.

From there, they had a better view of the woods around them and of the lakes.

They knew they had to concentrate and do their best to find the little girl.

Only a while later, Hotchkiss spotted the toddler in a stream.

YouTube - News 8 WROC
Source:
YouTube - News 8 WROC

“In the middle of a stream I saw a pink dot,” he said. “I found the stream and followed the stream and located the child. She was laying on her stomach on a rock.”

“I was calling her name and ran over to her and I saw her arm move and I knew she was alive. My heart just dropped. She hugged me immediately and wouldn’t let go.”

The man was so relieved to realize that the little girl responded to him calling her name by moving her arms.

She desperately needed a hug at that point, after a long day alone in the woods.

It must have truly been a very stressful experience for the toddler.

Hotchkiss didn’t waste any time.

He got closer to the girl and he took her in his arms. The little one just wouldn’t let go of him.

Another trooper wrapped his uniform around her for warmth.

YouTube - News 8 WROC
Source:
YouTube - News 8 WROC

The girl was taken to the hospital where doctors concluded that other than being very cold, she was healthy.

What a heartwarming story!

Watch the trooper talk about it in the video below.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

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