3-year-old lost in wilderness overnight found safe Saturday morning

BEAVER COUNTY, Utah — A 3-year-old boy went missing Friday night and was found on a hillside Saturday morning.

“I’ve just witnessed a miracle — I’ve been the sheriff for 32 years; I thought I was gonna have to give some horrific and terrible news to a mother and father,” Beaver County Sheriff Cameron Noel said.

The boy was with his mother and father and a group of people from northern Utah. They were rockhounding west of Milford when the boy wandered off, according to police.

A search began Friday evening at approximately 6 p.m., and the boy was found safe Saturday morning at approximately 8:45 a.m. on the opposite side of the hill where he was last seen. Noel estimated it was about a quarter of a mile away from where the family was rockhounding.

“Luckily one of our searchers was out there and heard a noise, and looked over and there he was. It’s just a miracle,” Noel said.

The boy was wearing a hooded coat and boots. Noel said he worried about giving bad news to the parents because it was down to 27 degrees overnight in the area.

“When you’re talking about a 3-year-old that’s just out there we figured he would have obtained hypothermia or possibly been taken by a cougar or wild animal,” he said.

The boy was OK and received medical attention on the scene.