A father from Texas was excited to take his son on a father-son fishing trip. Unfortunately, the trip would take a horrific turn when they went missing. When the toddler was finally located in the woods, his family’s relief would be short lived as they were left horrified by what they discovered.
Shortly after the abandoned boat was spotted, a search and rescue began for the father and son. Around two o’clock in the morning, the search was suspended and reopened six hours later. While two searchers were walking in the woods, they heard a crying noise off in the distance.
“They quickly found Oliver, who was wandering alone in the brush, wearing only shorts and a t-shirt,” according to IJ Review. Although the boy had been alone for an entire night, he only had a few scratches and cuts to show for it. Unfortunately, his father was nowhere to be found.
“[Oliver] was dry, scratched-up, scared, and cold but he’s fine and we got him reunited with his mother,” Texas Game Warden Cliff Swofford explained, according to Star-Telegram. Unfortunately, Oliver was unable to provide any information regarding what happened to his father and merely asked the rescuers for a juice box.
Despite the extensive search of the area, there have been no signs of Matthew. “At this point, I think we would have run across him if he was just wandering around in the woods somewhere. I don’t ever want to say never because stranger things have happened, but we’ve saturated the area,” Game Warden Captain Tony Norton admitted. “There’s so many unknowns. We have to turn over every stone to try to find him. And locate him. Luckily we found the child this morning and that was great. Hopefully, we can find the father alive as well.”
It’s unfortunate that a fun adventure between a father and son has resulted in tragedy. Although there currently are many unknowns regarding the incident, there’s no doubt the family must feel somewhat relieved to have the toddler back at home. It’s important for the family to be together during this difficult time, as the mother is undoubtedly heartbroken, knowing that her son’s dad is still missing. We can only pray that he is found.
Remember to hug your loved ones today – you never know what tomorrow may bring.