Community steps up to find missing boy

DEERBROOK - Hundreds of volunteers joined police to search through the night and into Sunday for a 3-year-old boy who wandered away from his rural home north of Antigo Saturday afternoon.

Becky Wolf of Antigo was one of those who turned out to search the fields and woods of central Langlade County. She saw a post on Facebook Saturday night and and joined the search party at 10 p.m., searching until 5 a.m Sunday before rejoining the search after a couple of hours' rest.

Word spread quickly around Antigo Saturday night, and scores of folks turned out to help the effort, police said. More than 400 had signed up to help by the time the boy was located late Sunday morning, police said.

The volunteer who found him, Tom Andraschko of Antigo, said he was in a party of about 70 men and women who were stretched out in a line across a field and had been working for more than two hours Sunday morning before they came upon the boy.

The 3-year-old was sitting cross-legged on the ground and obviously was terrified, Andraschko  said. Volunteers erupted in cheers when they located him, but their concern quickly turned to the boy's health. He had been outdoors since early Saturday afternoon and was cold and wet but otherwise appeared unharmed.

Andraschko said he volunteered to search because he himself is the father of 2-year-old twins and could imagine the horror of having one of them disappear. He would want others to help him if one of his went missing, he said, so he felt obligated to join the search.

Police from Wausau, Tomahawk, Shawano and around Langlade County congregated at county highways C and H, where volunteers waited Sunday morning for search assignments. Police coordinated volunteers on the ground with air searches and dogs that were assisting.

Pamela Becerra, owner of Neva Grocery and Gas, donated food and drinks to help feed the search party Saturday and Sunday. She said she didn't keep track of all the food she donated, but she knows she gave 200 sandwiches to volunteers Sunday morning. She also donated other snacks, such as granola bars and coffee. She said the idea of a small boy being lost and alone made her "sick," and she wanted to make sure the volunteers were taken care of. She said it's natural for people in a small community to help neighbors in need.

The boy was playing outside when he wandered away from nearby family members and into a corn field, said Langlade County Sheriff Bill Greening.  The field was at least 80 acres and the corn stalks were at least 7 feet high, but Greening, who has a grandchild around the same age of the boy, was determined to find him. He said several helicopters, drones and police dogs were used in the search, and additional resources from other departments were on the way when the boy was found. Some officers stayed on duty when their shifts ended and worked more than 24 hours in a row to help.

The owners of a converted schoolhouse allowed police to use their home as a headquarters from which to coordinate the search, police said. Police said the boy was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Wolf said searching in a corn field late at night was "creepy" and the search became frustrating at points. But she is proud of her community for coming through.

"It's a blessing he is OK," Wolf said.

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Arielle Hines: ahines@wausau.gannett.com or 715-297-7518; on Twitter@theariellehines.