Missing 6-year-old found after overnight search in woods south of Lawrence

photo by: Douglas County Sheriff's Office

A Douglas County Sheriff's Office vehicle is pictured in January 2022.

Updated at 10:10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 6, 2023

A child who went missing Sunday in the woods near a rural residence south of Lawrence was found Monday morning after an overnight search with drones and a helicopter.

The child, a 6-year-old boy, is reportedly unharmed after he was found near a tree line around 9 a.m. Monday. Emergency crews searched for nearly 16 hours, according to a news release from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

A family member of the boy reported him missing a little before 5 p.m. Sunday, and multiple law enforcement agencies and emergency services throughout the area responded. Drones from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Lawrence Police Department were deployed as well as a Kansas Highway patrol helicopter and search dogs from the Kansas City, Kansas, fire department, according to the release. Members of the community who live in the area provided food and drinks for the search parties.

The sheriff’s office indicated the search was conducted in the area of North 600 road between East 1100 and East 1000 roads.

The National Weather Service in Topeka reported temperatures as low as 31 degrees overnight in Lawrence.

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