'You need a hug?': Video shows deputy comfort crying girl separated from mom on Florida beach
Bodycam video released Monday shows a deputy coming to the aid of a frightened little girl who got lost on a Florida beach in what officials called "a parent's nightmare."
The incident took place Friday on Indian Rocks Beach in Pinellas County, about 25 miles northwest of St. Petersburg.
Deputy Geoff Moore was able to find the girl after her mother provided both a description and a recent photo of her, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in a video released on Facebook.
When Moore finds the terrified girl on the beach, she can be heard saying, "I miss my mommy. I miss her."
In a heartwarming display of comfort, Moore responds: "You need a hug? It’s gonna be OK. Let’s go get you to Mom, all right?"
The girl, who is not named and whose face is blurred in the video, embraces him.
Moments later, Moore was able to reunite the mother and daughter as a large group of onlookers observed the emotional moment of an audibly sobbing mother overjoyed to see her little girl again.
"Thankfully, this story has a happy ending," the sheriff's department wrote in its Facebook post.
"Any time you take your kids to a crowded location, consider taking a photo of them in their current outfits so if the unthinkable occurs — your child is lost — they can be located as quickly as possible," it recommended.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
