In Eastern Texas, hundreds of people were searching for a missing person inside the forest. Their loud calls were ringing in the quiet wooded area. The people were desperately searching because they were running out of time. The light of the sun was fading, and the night was coming. It made people feel hopeless because it was hard to find a missing person when it was dark. However, the group of people did not expect when one dog did pick up a scent.
Camping Trip
Gloria Cooper did not know what was happening around that time. She and her husband Jeremy, were appreciating their dinner at Dave & Buster’s Restaurant in Houston, Texas. Gloria was celebrating away from her duties as a mother when something happened with her son. She did not know something would happen that could destroy her world. Gloria was 60 miles away from her son. She did not care when her ex-husband took her son for a camping trip. However, she was in distress when she realized her ex-husband did to her child.
Camping Trip
The Woods
Ezra Parrish was the name of the child who was missing. His father took them to Sam Houston National Forest for a camp with his siblings. It was almost an hour trip to the north of Houston. It was also the most famous destination for the campers and family who wanted to go sightseeing in the wooded area. Also, The forest was included in the four-national forest of the state. However, when the incident happened inside the forestry, the woods lacked campers and hikers.
The Woods
A Mother’s Worst Nightmare
It was afternoon when the father and his children arrived at their destination for camping. Ezra’s father decided to choose their location of camping far away from people. They were positioned close to Stubblefield Lake, off Forest Road 208. The father and his children assembled their camp at that place. However, Gloria did not know that her children’s adventure would become a nightmare.
A Mother’s Worst Nightmare
The Time Was Not On Their Side
At 3 p.m. Jason Slot received a phone call that came from the father of the missing boy. Jason was the Chief of the New Waverly Fire Department and was Ezra’s biological father, and he called for help when he realized his three-year-old son was missing. However, it was odd when he told the officials that he had no idea why his son left their campsite and where he would have the child go. It was 90 °F when they came for a camp and still rising as time goes by. However, the officials and families knew that they were fighting against time.
The Time Was Not On Their Side
A Message No Mother Wants To Hear
The Rescuer teamed up to search for the missing boy in the forest. They consumed an entire afternoon inside the wooded area. However, they did not find the boy or even a single clue to know his whereabouts. It was hours later that the group of rescue teams searched every part of the forestry and still could not find the missing boy, they finally decided to inform Gloria what happened that time. They needed to explain everything to his mother. It was a message every mother did not want to hear.
A Message No Mother Wants To Hear
A Terrible News
When Gloria reached for her phone, she was not familiar with the number who was calling her. However, she had a bad feeling about this phone call. She decided to answer, but the person on the other end had given her terrible news that her three-year-old son was missing. The afternoon had ended, and dusk was coming. They knew they were running out time. They also understand that the forest was a dangerous place for a lonely child especially when it was dark
A Terrible News
Pleaded For Help
Gloria was processing everything that happened on the other side of the phone call. She could not believe what was happening in the camp. She and her husband rushed to their car and headed to Stubblefield Lake, where Ezra’s biological father and his siblings were camping. While they were traveling towards the location, Gloria hastily phoned all her relatives nearby the place and begged for their help. She told all her relatives what happened, and her son was missing at the campsite. However, were they too late?
Pleaded For Help
Time Was Running Out
Fortunately, Gloria’s sister and Lalaine, her niece, were willing to search for her missing son. Both of her relatives were residing in California. They took the first flight and quickly flew to Houston. They were determined to help Gloria search for her missing son. When they landed in Houston, they rushed towards the location of the campsite to meet the other search party, which was still finding the disappeared boy inside the forest. People understand that time was not on their side.
Time Was Running Out
Looking So Hopeless
People searched for the missing child until nightfall, however, at 1:00 a.m. Ezra’s family and rescue team were tired and fatigued, and they could not still find the missing boy. People who were searching for Ezra felt misery and losing their hope in finding the disappeared child. They knew it was the time to call for additional help. With two hundred people who were helping in the search, the condition of the pursuit for the missing person was becoming hopeless.
Looking So Hopeless
The Texas EquuSearch
People asked for some back-up, and the Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team, or TXEQ were prepared when they asked for recruitment. The team consisted of 600 strong people and were always requested for the government to search for a missing person. This group was known in their state for their accomplishment. Even though additional help would come, Gloria was preparing herself for the worst outcome she could have thought of.
The Texas EquuSearch
More People Are Coming
It was May 28, 2017, and they still could not find the missing child inside the forest early hours of the morning. Jan Tipps, a member of TXEQ, requested for additional help from the other group of TXEQ to aid in their search. It was 4:30 a.m. when a new member of the group arrived and determined to find the trails of the missing person.
More People Are Coming
Search For The Missing Boy
A volunteer named David White wrote a post on the TXEQ blog stating, “It was very eerie hearing family members out in the woods calling Ezra’s name in the dark.” However, no one would declare their cause was becoming useless. Others knew they searched for a day, and they could not find a clue where the child was. It was when the sun began to rise, and they could not still find the missing child.
Search For The Missing Boy
Out In Full Force
When the new morning started, some volunteers joined the search and came from the fire department and TXEQ. Some of them were experienced searchers who knew about the location like the Sam Houston Trails Coalition. Also, there were strangers to the family who aided them in search for the missing son of Gloria. Even though all these people were helping to search for the missing person, they still had no clue of Ezra.
Out In Full Force
Desperate Measures
There were hundreds of people who tried to search in different parts of the forest. They covered the whole four miles of the wooded area in search of a possible clue of Ezra. People who owned squad bikes drove their way up and down the trails hoping they would spot something along the way while others chopped bushes with their machetes to widen their vision. This time, they freed their trained dog to smell a scent hoping they would find a clue.
Desperate Measures
Hoping For The Best, Bracing The Worst
Tim Miller was the TXEQ’s president. He remembered his hardest decision in that incident. Tim gave permission to use a boat into the lake to scan the water with the use of equipment called sensitive sonar. He hoped that he would never find the child in the middle of the lake. People who were searching for Ezra were hoping he was ok. However, they were also prepared for the worst outcome of the incident. The boy was missing for almost a day, and their chance to find the boy was fading.
Hoping For The Best, Bracing The Worst
All Hopes Are Beginning To Fade
Tim Miller, who gave permission to use the boat for the search, felt relieved when there was no trace of the boy’s body in the lake. However, it was almost midday, and they still could not find the boy. The chance of finding Ezra became slimmer with the heat that was wearing down the people searching for the lost child. Until it was almost time to address the press on what was happening in the search, Tim was ready for the media, but he tried to think that the child was still safe.
All Hopes Are Beginning To Fade
No One’s Giving Up
When Tim readied himself for the press conference, There were still volunteers who continued their search in the location. One of them was Ezra’s 21-years-old cousin named Lalaine Dungca. She was searching for the child who did not want to give up and was determined they would find Ezra. Her voice became cough because of her effort yelling Ezra’s name inside the forest. Her condition was not excellent, her eyes were burning because she did not have any sleep. At one point, one of the dogs that we’re searching for a clue began to bark
No One’s Giving Up
Eagerly Track A Scent
Miles away from the camp, a dog recognized something and alerted their handlers. The dog keenly followed the scent and led to the area where there was thick grass. Lelaine, the cousin of Ezra, mustered all her courage when she saw the dog’s reaction. She began to call the name of her cousin. However, as she called the name, someone answered inside the thick grass.
Eagerly Track A Scent
Ezra Was Rescued
Ezra was found, and he was still alive! The people who were searching and the members of the New Waverly followed the cry of the boy. He was found resting in the thick grass. The people were observing Ezra, and all were grateful when he only sustained minor scratches and bruises. However, he was rushed to the nearby children’s hospital in The Woodlands to make sure that he was all right. Steve Degnar, the Montgomery Co. Search and Rescue, stated to the people, “The greatest outcome we could have asked for just happened right now.”
