The missing two year old was last seen at around 3:00 p.m. after laying down with her mother. Photo: Newberry County Sheriff’s Office
When a deer hunter was hiking through the woods in South Carolina on Sunday, October 22, he was hoping for a buck. Instead, he found a little girl.
According to reports, Sara Alice Grice, who is just two years old, went missing around 3 p.m. on Sunday. She laid down with her mother in their home, and then vanished. Three hours later, the hunter heard her crying a mile from her house. “He called Newberry County 911, which began to track them through our mapping technology,” wrote the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office in a release. “This information was transmitted to a SLED helicopter and the first responders.”
A search team was dispatched, and they were able to find the hunter and little Sara. She was taken to a Sheriff’s Office vehicle, which took her to a Newberry County EMS Ambulance. “Other than being tired, thirsty, and frightened, the little girl was in good shape,” the Sheriff’s Office continued. “We thank all the first responders, citizens, clergy, and people offering prayers for your help. It was truly a miraculous find.”
Sara’s parents, Mekayla and Gary, told NBC affiliate WIS-TV that she had left the house as her mother slept. Gary left the house through the backdoor, assuming she was asleep with Mekayla, but the girl must have wandered outside. When they realized she was gone, they too called 911.
“It was a scary thought because what if someone sees movement and doesn’t realize it’s a child,” Mekayla told WIS-TV. “Instead, we got a great response that (helped find) our baby. To have gone a mile in a completely different direction is just astounding.”
