DOSWELL, Va. --A Martin Marietta quarry worker found Robert Wood Jr. about 2 p.m. lying down in a creek bed or gully west of the Martin Marietta quarry property, about three-quarters to a mile from where he was last seen, Hanover Sheriff David Hines said during an afternoon news briefing.
Hines said Robert was alert and described his condition as “serious but in good shape.” He was fully clothed.
“There is a God, he listens to prayer and the prayers were answered,” said Hines, adding, “no one on the team ever gave up” looking for him.
Robert, an 8-year-old severely autistic child who cannot speak, disappeared Sunday during a family walk in North Anna Battlefield park.
The worker found Robert in a fetal position but alert about 50 yards from the edge of the quarry.
Hines said the area where Robert was found had been searched before. “It’s been a challenge dealing with a child with special needs who is lost. I can’t tell you he was there (earlier). I don’t think we walked past him.”
“We have 6,000 volunteers to thank – and not just from Hanover County – but from the entire region,” said Hines, who also praised the support the department received from numerous public safety agencies, the military, search and rescue groups and local businesses.
The search, Hines said, was “an effort by an entire region – and possibly a state.”
“Whenever a child goes missing, everyone wants to step up,” he said.
“We’ve spoken with the experts that have been involved in these searches, and they have never been involved a search that had this many volunteers consistently, everyday, and grow everyday,” the chief said.
The investigation into how Robert became separated from his father continues, Hines said.
-- Mark Bowes and Bill McKelway
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