SOUTH CAROLINA: Sara Alice Grice, a two-year-old girl who was reported missing on Sunday, October 22 at around 3.00 pm has been "miraculously" found by a South Carolina deer hunter.
The young child was found hours later at 6.00 pm after she went missing after lying down with her mother outside their home in Prosperity, reported People.
Sara Grice was tracked using mapping technology
According to the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office's Facebook release, "Around 6:00 pm, a deer hunter heard her crying. He called Newberry County 911, which began to track them through our mapping technology."
Before a "search team found the hunters and the little girl in a wooded area almost a mile from her home," the information given by the deer hunter was then transferred to first responders and the SLED helicopter, according to People.
Parents of the 2-year-old said she 'walked out of the home on her own'
Speaking to NBC affiliate WIS-TV, the child's parents Mekayla and Gary spoke of their daughter's disappearance.
They said that as the two-year-old slept, Gary left the home through the backdoor.
After he returned, the parents realized Grice was missing and they dialed 911.
"It was a scary thought because what if someone sees movement and doesn’t realize it’s a child," said Mekayla.
"Instead, we got a great response that [helped find] our baby."
Explaining how the deer hunter became an unexpected hero in Grice's missing, the Newberry County Sheriff's Office detailed the sequence of events.
Sheriff Lee Foster stated that Grice "walked out of the home on her own," and said that there was "nothing sinister" about the missing case.
"She was lost and was found," the sheriff added.
Foster added that after Grice was found, she was taken by a waiting department vehicle to an awaiting Newberry County Emergency Medical Services ambulance.
"Other than being tired, thirsty, and frightened, the little girl was in good shape," said authorities. They noted that locating her was "truly a miraculous find."
According to WIS-TV, Mekayla found Grice's journey from their home "astounding."
"To have gone a mile in a completely different direction is just astounding," she said.
The search for the child was a joint effort by Emergency Service Personnel from all over Newberry County who participated along with the Newberry City Police, the Sheriff’s Office, and SLED, according to the Newberry County Sheriff's statement issued following the incident.
