ONIA — A 3-year-old boy who wandered away from his home in mountainous rural north Arkansas was found Wednesday in good shape by rescuers who had searched for more than 24 hours.
Landen Cade Trammell was wearing only Spiderman underwear when he walked out of his backyard in Onia on Tuesday. He was still wearing them Wednesday afternoon when a search team found him making mud pies in a creek, said state Sen. Missy Irvin of Mountain View, who served as the family spokesman.
“He was real excited to eat a bag of Cheetos and drink some water,” Irvin said.
Dogs tried to track the boy’s scent as more than 300 volunteers, law enforcement members, firefighters and others searched on foot, horseback and all-terrain vehicles.
The Arkansas Forestry Commission contributed maps and developed a grid system of the rugged terrain.
Landen was found by a U.S. Forest Service crew, and he was taken to Stone County Medical Center for treatment for exposure. Irvin said Landen would be kept overnight for observation but was doing fine, except for being dehydrated.
Landen was found 3 1/2 miles from home in an area that already had been searched. Some cattle were grazing near where the mud-covered boy was found.
“He said he spent the night with the cows,” Irvin said.
The area where the boy wandered off is mostly dense forest with abundant downed timber from past ice storms. There are numerous caves, abandoned wells and timber rattlesnakes.
“It’s a pretty treacherous place,” Irwin said.
Numerous agencies contributed resources to the search effort, including Baxter County Sheriff’s Department, which used a helicopter that flew at treetop level Tuesday and Wednesday.
Read more in tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.