By Lisa Wilson
The Island Packet (Hilton Head Island, S.C.)
PORT WENTWORTH, Ga. — A 2-year-old girl reported missing in Port Wentworth early Wednesday morning was found safe in the woods near her neighborhood.
The girl was identified as Kamiyah Imani Vicks by Missing Persons of America.
“By the grace of God this child was located, and she is fine and on her way to the hospital now to be checked out,” announced Matt Libby, director of public safety for Port Wentworth.
The girl had minor scrapes and was feared to be dehydrated, Libby said.
She was found in the woods around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said.
Major Lee Sherrod of the Port Wentworth Police Department said Kamiyah had last been seen with her mother around 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The toddler was in a stroller and wearing leopard-print shorts, he said.
https://www.facebook.com/SavPolice/videos/1971782529546962/
“The last place that she was seen was in the area of Benton Boulevard and the Highlands, which is just on the other side of those woods,” Sherrod said at a media briefing earlier Wednesday in the Lake Shore neighborhood.
Kamiyah’s mother reported her missing around 7 a.m. Wednesday, Sherrod said.
“Everything says that she is just missing, and we are trying to find her,” Sherrod said before the child was found.
He said Kamiyah’s mother had been hospitalized and was being interviewed by investigators.
During the search, a helicopter flew over the Lake Shore neighborhood, and first responders, including Chatham County Marine Patrol and Port Wentworth Fire and Rescue, searched a nearby pond in boats, according to WTOC reporters.
The helicopter crew was able to help investigators find the girl’s stroller and her mother’s flip-flops, which narrowed the search location, Libby said.
An investigation into the circumstances under which the child went missing remained under way, Libby said.
©2018 The Island Packet (Hilton Head, S.C.)