UPDATE: Child found safe

Greg Jordan, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
·3 min read

Mar. 3—ROCK — After law enforcement, volunteers and neighbors turned out to help, a missing child was found Wednesday after a search lasting almost two hours along Cabin Branch Road in Mercer County.

Mercer County 911 was alerted about 10:12 a.m. that a 2-year-old boy had left his home, according to Sheriff Tommy Bailey. The blond boy was wearing a diaper and it was believed that a dog was with him.

Volunteers with the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) found the child near the top of the hill behind his home.

"We were all the way at the top," CERT volunteer Daniel Roland said. "We were about to circle back down down and we heard the baby cry. He was just standing there. The dog was with him, but the dog took off when we went there."

Members of the Mercer County Sheriff's Department, West Virginia State Police Princeton detachment and the Matoaka Volunteer Fire Department were dispatched to the scene. A bloodhound was requested as well.

The child's mother, Alyssa Robertson, called out her son's name, Malihka, from the road while neighbors walked along Cabin Branch Road calling out his name as well. Bailey advised them not to go into the forest so any tracker dog would not get confused.

Soon neighbors and volunteers alike were shouting with joy as Malihka was carried down the mountain.

"Is my baby OK?" Alyssa Robertson cried.

"He's fine! He's OK!" one of the volunteers called back.

"God is so good!" she proclaimed to all.

Bailey said the child had some scratches and was cold, but otherwise was fine. He was being checked by members of the Princeton Rescue Squad.

The search concluded about 12:21 p.m.

Bailey thanked the neighbors and public for their help. The search was the second time the CERT team of volunteers had been called out to help with an emergency.

"The county commission approved the CERT team, Bailey said.

"And they are just for situations like this," Bailey said. — Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com — ROCK — Deputies, troopers, firefighters and neighbors were searching Wednesday along the Cabin Branch Road area of Lake Bottom in Mercer County after a 2-year-old boy wearing only a diaper left his home and went missing.

Mercer County 911 was alerted about 10:12 a.m. that a 2-year-old boy had left his home, according to Sheriff Tommy Bailey. The blond boy was wearing a diaper and it was believed that a black dog was with him.

Members of the Mercer County Sheriff's Department, West Virginia State Police Princeton detachment and the Matoaka Volunteer Fire Department were dispatched to the scene. A bloodhound was requested as well.

Neighbors joined in the search.

The child's mother, Alyssa Robertson, called out her son's name, Malihka, from the road while neighbors walked along Cabin Branch Road calling out his name as well. Bailey advised them not to go into the forest so any tracker dog would not get confused.

The search was continuing as of 11:50 a.m. — Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com