On Sept. 27, at approximately 9:20 p.m., Morden RCMP received a report of a missing three-year-old male from the RM of Stanley. The child had been missing and the family searching for him for nearly two hours when police were contacted.
Police attended immediately and called the local fire department to assist as well. The RCMP Search and Rescue team and RCMP Police Service Dog Jolt were called to the scene as well as the RCMP Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) unit.
It was determined that the child had been playing with family and friends when they all decided to go into the tree line. The little boy was believed to have gone into a cornfield.
Emergency lights were left on to create more light in case the child could see them and a perimeter search was done by vehicle to see if the child had exited the cornfield.
A row-by-row search was conducted on the 210-acre cornfield by the RCMP, fire department, and civilians. Outbuildings were searched by police. Continual perimeter checks were conducted. The RPAS hit on multiple heat signatures that turned out to be wildlife. Police Service Dog Jolt entered the field to determine if there was a scent trail.
RPAS located another heat signature in the field west of the residence, and at 12:40 a.m. on Sept. 28, the child was located and taken immediately to Emergency Medical Services, who were on standby. He was not physically injured.
“This is the best possible outcome, and it is because of the quick response of everyone involved,” said Sergeant Scott McAuley, Pembina Valley RCMP Area Commander. “The local fire department, civilian searchers, and all the RCMP teams came together to find this little boy and showed how important it is for community to come together. It is a great day when we are able to hand a missing child back to their frantic parents and reunite a family. Thank you to everyone who assisted. Working together, you made a difference.”
