It was cold outside, and the night was hours away. The State Trooper knew what that meant for a 2-year-old girl lost in the woods.
The young man had to do everything he could to find her in time. When he spotted a pink dot in the distance, his heart filled with excitement thinking it was the little girl. But upon reaching the place, he never expected to encounter this.
The community of South Bristol, New York, flew into a frenzy after news broke that a 2-year-old girl had gone missing. The child was nowhere to be found and had seemingly wandered off into the deep dark woods of the New York community.
The little girl was loved by many people in her community, and everyone wanted her safe. State Troopers got to work trying to find the missing child before some harm came to her. Would they manage to get her in time, though?
New York State Trooper Brian Hotchkiss was in charge of the search party. He was leading men and women in a desperate search to find the little 2-year-old girl before the sunset and temperatures started dropping.
People thought the girl had gotten lost in the woods, which would also expose her to possible dangers from critters that make it their home.
Before heading into the deep woods, Trooper Hotchkiss and his team knocked on doors across the community. Unfortunately, this did not bear fruit as no one had seen the missing child and had no idea where she could have gone off to.
It was time for the State Trooper to find a different way to find the girl. But he was at a loss. What could he do?
Trooper Hotchkiss knew that time was running out. The girl was at risk of freezing overnight or getting attacked by a wild animal. He also knew that the longer it took the search team to find the missing girl, the more likely it was that she would never be found – or would be found after it was too late to help her return to her family.
That was a scenario he didn’t want to consider yet. But what could he do to turn the odds in his favor?
The next thing Trooper Hotchkiss did was to round up every available person in the community and prepare them for a deep search in the woods.
He organized everyone into groups and gave specific instructions on how to stay safe and search for the girl the right way. No one hesitated. They all went looking for the lost 2-year-old. The Trooper was still worried that they might be too late.
The sunset was upon them, and everyone knew what that meant. State Trooper Hotchkiss was getting more worried by the minute.
He was desperately looking for the little girl, but he began to feel hopeless. There was no sign of her, and the young man didn’t know what to do. The forest was big and wide, and all his effort seemed to go to waste. He was pushing through, though, not planning to give any time soon.
The young State Trooper had to find a different way. He had to figure it out soon, or the girl would run out of time. While wandering inside the woods, he split from his colleagues and went on his own.
Brian noticed a hill a few miles away, and he decided to go on top of it, hoping to get a better look at the forest and see the little girl. Would he be able to reach it before the dark settled, though?
The State Trooper climbed on the hill as fast as he could. When he reached the peak, he took his binoculars and surveyed the entire area.
What he saw left him without words. Brian noticed a pink dot in the distance. It could have been anything, but he hoped it was the little girl. Was he right, though? Or was it just a piece of garbage left by some hikers?
There was no time to waste. The young State Trooper quickly headed to the place where he noticed the pink dot, hoping he’ll find the girl.
His heart was pounding. His legs were weak, and he was out of breath from running around and looking all day. But what he encountered when he reached the place left him speechless.
When the man reached the place, he didn’t expect to find this. The little girl’s clothes were dirty and wet, and she was lying down on her belly.
The State Trooper rushed to her, and she immediately grabbed his leg as he reached her. He checked if she was alright and alerted the others. As he took her in his arms, the little girl didn’t say a word and just hugged him with all her strength.
Without a doubt, the little girl was glad to see the rescuer. She clung to Trooper Hotchkiss as though her life depended upon it.
In a way, she owed the man her life because he had taken a risk to climb the hill ahead of sunset to see the forest better and maybe locate her. The little girl didn’t want to let go of her rescuer no matter what, and who could blame her. She was out there all alone for so long, and he was the one who found her.
The little girl was weak and wet. She was freezing cold when she was rescued, so one of the troopers wrapped her in a jacket. Everyone was overwhelmed with happiness when they saw Brian walk with the girl in his arms and wanted to help as much as they could.
The parents were also notified that she had been found, but now they had to take her to a hospital to see if she was alright.
Being so little, it was difficult for the State Trooper to properly assess her condition. They had to take her to the nearby hospital.
The 2-year-old girl was taken to the emergency room, where she underwent a checkup to ensure she had not been injured or suffered in any way. Thankfully, the hospital cleared her, and the little girl could return home to her family.
As for Trooper Hotchkiss, he was invited to a local TV station to talk about his heroism of the day. “I still can’t get that out of my head, her turning over and looking at me and throwing her hands up in the air. I’ll never forget that,” he said.
The story of her rescue was also shared on social media, and it went viral as everyone was overjoyed that the little girl was found safe and sound.
