Robert Wood found
Autistic 9-year-old Robert Wood, Jr., who has been missing since Sunday, has been found, according to news reports.
Watch the press conference live here.
He was found near the quarry in relatively good condition not far from the park. He’s being hydrated and warmed. He’s put in a medical helicopter and flown to VCU hospital.
Robert disappeared Sunday afternoon while hiking near North Anna Battlefield Park in Hanover County.
Robert presumably spent his fourth night in the elements on Wednesday, when temperatures dipped into the 40s. Volunteers have come out in the hundreds, refusing to give up the search.
"Something in your gut tells you that this is what you need to do," volunteer searcher Stacie Hudson said. "If it were my child, I would want those people out there."
About 1,000 people came to help, so many that some volunteers had to be turned away. Many volunteers are mothers themselves, such as Jenny Harris, whose husband stayed home from work this afternoon to watch their 9- and 11-year-old boys so she could aid the search.
"To hear there was a 9-year-old boy out on his own, especially in his condition, is just heartbreaking. I would want somebody to come out and help my boys if they were out there,” Harris said.
Volunteers spread out in teams through the 14-mile search area to look under tarps, inside containers, anywhere a boy could hide.
“We're supposed to be looking for anything. He's wearing a red jacket, black shoes, he could be up in a tree, hiding under something, just anything,” said Rita Cook, whose father picked up her own 9- and 5-year-old sons from school Thursday so she could join the search.
Searchers have combed riverbeds and trekked along railroad tracks during their hunt, saying that as the sun goes down each night, their resolve doesn't. After four days presumably outside, food, water and shelter for the boy are concerns.
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