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Across the Fence:  Runner Finds Baby in Woods  |
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melody
True Blue Farmgirl
3305 Posts
Melody
The Great North Woods in the Land of Hiawatha
USA
3305 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 03 2011 : 06:19:26 AM
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I lived near this area for many years and frequented this little state park when the kids were little...
The mother never called 911! If the young man had decided not to run that day this story would have had a very different ending.
When are people going to get it through their THICK heads that if a child, and in this case a BABY, goes missing call 911 RIGHT AWAY!!
11/3/2011
Runner finds baby in woods
Trevor Vetort shows the spot near Highway M-35 where he found a toddler sitting and crying in the woods Wednesday. Vetort found the boy while running at J.W. Wells State Park near Cedar River.
EagleHerald/Rick Gebhard
By PENNY MULLINS
EagleHerald news editor
CEDAR RIVER - A last-minute decision by Trevor Vetort to get a morning run in before he headed off to class Wednesday may have saved the life of a 2-year-old boy.
Vetort, 18, runs at J.W. Wells State Park, which is close to his home on County Road G-12 in Cedar River. Wednesday, he almost decided against it.
"Usually I run every other day and I wasn't going to go because of the weather, but I decided to go," he said.
While on his run through the old growth trail he takes in the park, he almost missed the toddler sitting in the leaves near the path.
"The trail is only about 20 yards off the highway (M-35) through a cedar swamp," he said. "There's a line of trees between the trail and the highway. I got to the corner where it meets close to the highway and he was sitting on the grass and leaves.
"I almost ran right up on him - then I heard him crying. It kinda freaked me out when I (saw) him. He wanted me to pick him up - he was crying 'mommy.'"
Vetort picked up the small child and carried him to the park office around 11. The office is about a mile and a half away.
Wednesday morning was dreary, wet and cold after an early rainstorm passed through. Temperatures in the woods were in the mid 40s.
"It wasn't raining at the time, but there was water dripping from the trees on me when I was running and he was a little damp," Vetort said about the toddler.
The child was wearing a hat, boots, a shirt and pants - but no jacket. Vetort said he was cold and scared, but couldn't speak well enough to say who he was or where he was from.
"He had to have been there for a while, he was scared, but he wanted me to pick him up," Vetort said.
The area is covered in growing and fallen trees and is not regularly checked by the rangers, said Vetort, who is a part-time ranger at Wells currently on layoff.
"He looked like he might be with someone camping," Vetort said, and he took the child to the office and then to a nearby toilet building where rangers were working.
"They didn't believe me at first when I said I found him in the woods alone," Vetort said. The rangers verified that no one was camping in the park.
The park rangers called the Menominee County Sheriff's Department to report the incident. At this point, no one knew who the child was - and no child had been reported missing.
Menominee County Sheriff Kenny Marks said that Cpl. Bob Menacher was on duty in the area, and he was told to check a residence in Cedar River for the mother of the child.
"There is a woman who recently moved back to the area and I thought she might be the mother," Marks said.
When Menacher arrived at the residence where Charleen Elane Marks, 29, was staying, located near the north end of the park acreage, he found her and several other people looking in the yard for the child.
"The story she told the deputy is that he wandered off and must have lost his coat in the woods," Sheriff Marks said.
The mother did not indicate how long the child had been missing and had not called 911.
Sheriff Marks said that the child was returned to his mother, but the case remains under investigation by his department and the Department of Human Services, which was notified.
"The child was wandering through the woods on a cold, dark, damp, nasty day in a place with big cats, bear, wolves ..." said Sheriff Marks. "He was upset, and wasn't clean - and he soiled himself - he appeared very upset. He was lost on a muddy trail in a rustic area of the forest. It had to be scary. Luckily, he was found."
Vetort, who is familiar with the park and the location of the residence where the boy and his mother are staying, estimated the child was at least a mile from his home when he came across him.
The woman has two other children who are both of school age, Sheriff Marks said. She is a former resident of the county who recently moved back to the Cedar River area.
"The missing piece of the puzzle is when he (the child) went missing," Marks said. "We will get to the bottom of it."
Vetort, who attends Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, didn't make it to class after all on Wednesday. After his run, he talked with sheriff's deputies for some time before he was able to go home and clean up from the run he almost didn't take.
"It's not a trail used by many people during the season, and no one is on it this time of year," he said of the quiet path in the woods. "It just doesn't happen that a 2-year-old is found wandering around that area."
Melody
Farmgirl #525 |
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Nov 03 2011 : 06:49:09 AM
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Good Lord! God is merciful! God bless that baby's guardian angel and that young man for finding him! Thank God he decide to go for his run! I just pray the child is okay. Please do keep us posted, Melody! Hugs - Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
www.papercraftingwithnini.myctmh.com
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jan49829
True Blue Farmgirl
2428 Posts
Janet
Winter Haven
Florida
USA
2428 Posts |
Posted - Nov 03 2011 : 06:55:52 AM
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WOW!!!! That is close to me also!!!! Children are so fast, but I agree with you, she should have called 911 right away, especially living out in the woods like that!!! How wonderful that the young man decided to jog, or who knows how that would have ended!!!
Jan
Farmgirl Sister #3340
http://hardatworkcrafts.blogspot.com
http://Jan49829.etsy.com
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Annika
True Blue Farmgirl
5602 Posts
Annika
USA
5602 Posts |
Posted - Nov 03 2011 : 06:57:50 AM
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What WAS this woman thinking? I'm so glad the poor child was found before he died from exposure or was eaten by something =(
I wish that people would respect the life that they've given birth to a lot more
Annika
Farmgirl & sister #13
http://thegimpyfarmgirl.blogspot.com/
http://pinterest.com/annikaloveshats/
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci
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Acelady02
True Blue Farmgirl
1266 Posts
Penny
Washington
GA
USA
1266 Posts |
Posted - Nov 03 2011 : 07:38:41 AM
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I agree that GOD is merciful...thank goodness the child is well I hope they get to the bottom of this story, some of it sounds a little strange.
(((((Hugs All)))))Penny
Farmgirl Sister #3343
God gives Miracles to those who Believe, Courage to those with Faith, Hope to those who Dream, Love to those who Accept, & Forgiveness to those who Ask... |
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melody
True Blue Farmgirl
3305 Posts
Melody
The Great North Woods in the Land of Hiawatha
USA
3305 Posts |
Posted - Nov 03 2011 : 08:52:14 AM
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The trail is 20-yards off a very busy highway....I had five children believe me I know how fast one can get away from you, but you have to be on your toes constantly watching and making sure your child is secure and for goodness sake if you suddenly lose one call 911. Sounds pretty fishy to me.
Melody |
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Fiddlehead Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
4562 Posts
Diane
Waupaca
WI
USA
4562 Posts |
Posted - Nov 03 2011 : 09:25:28 AM
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Thank God for Trevor! I saw this and could not believe that the Mom did not call the police. If my two year old was gone, you can bet that is the first thing I would do.
http://studiodiphotosite.shutterfly.com/
farmgirl sister #922
Don't go with the flow...you are the flow.
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- E. B. White |
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queenmushroom
True Blue Farmgirl
985 Posts
Lorena
Centerville
Me
USA
985 Posts |
Posted - Nov 03 2011 : 09:48:15 AM
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Is this mom freaking NUTS????? Not calling 911? Thank you God for Trevor and making him take his run.
Lorie |
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lilwing
True Blue Farmgirl
1403 Posts
Brooke
Fulshear
Texas
USA
1403 Posts |
Posted - Nov 03 2011 : 09:50:09 AM
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This sounds odd. I'd be freaking out and calling 911 immediately if my child went missing. I'd be a basketcase.
~~~~
Proud Farmgirl #775
honeybrookefarm.blogspot.com
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ClaireSky
True Blue Farmgirl
1792 Posts
Julie
Arcadia
WI
USA
1792 Posts |
Posted - Nov 03 2011 : 10:20:25 AM
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What is wrong with this woman...... Trevor, you are a hero! Thank God for you!
Julie
Farmgirl Sister #399
West-Central WI Farmgirls
"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful." Herman Cain |
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YakLady
True Blue Farmgirl
652 Posts
Natalie
Montana
USA
652 Posts |
Posted - Nov 03 2011 : 10:58:12 AM
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Holy Moly. I hope they do follow up with that mother. And thank God the boy was found by a human before any number of other creatures.
~Natalie~ Just a farmgirl in Western Montana. http://mtnme.blogspot.com
Starting a family and raising Tibetan Yaks, Nigerian Dwarf Goats, Laying hens, Muscovy ducks, and a few dogs. |
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knittingmom
True Blue Farmgirl
665 Posts
AnneMarie
Edmonton
Alberta
Canada
665 Posts |
Posted - Nov 03 2011 : 6:11:44 PM
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What is wrong with that woman indeed if my young toddler had been missing and I couldn't locate them in less than 10 - 15 minutes of thorough searching I would be calling 911 ASAP. Small children that age are fast and wander where their curiosity takes them. It's a good thing that the young man listened to that inner push to go that day.
There's more to this than meets the eye. It's good to hear that the authorities are investigating sooner obviously they thing something isn't just right.
"There is no foot so small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world"
"The things that matter most are not really things after all" |
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Tapestry
True Blue Farmgirl
1223 Posts
Cheryl
Wisconsin
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2011 : 12:46:47 AM
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This was on our news here last night too. God was looking after that little boy. I can't imagine how scared he must have been poor little tyke. Thank God the 18 yr old runner heard his cries and found him. Charges may yet be pending against this mom as social services looks into this to see if she was intentionally negligent. I don't know the circumstances yet but I do have to say that once when my oldest son was about 2 or 3 and we had laid down for his nap he woke before I did and the little stinker didn't wake me....slipped past me, unlocked our door and let himself out of the house. Thankfully he was smart enough not to leave the yard. Scared the living bejeebers out of me when I woke up and he wasn't in his bed. He got a firm talking to and we put a hook higher up on the door so he couldn't let himself out of the house anymore. He's 31 now but has a 2 yr old of his own. Think its time for a memory jog so his little guy never tries what his daddy did.
Happy farmgirl sister #353
Look for rainbows instead of mud puddles
http://pinterest.com/ctapestry/
http://tapestrysimaginings.blogspot.com/ |
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melody
True Blue Farmgirl
3305 Posts
Melody
The Great North Woods in the Land of Hiawatha
USA
3305 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2011 : 05:12:24 AM
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Contrary to what the average citizen believes having Social Services "investigate" an incident like this will more often than not determine that the mother was NOT negligent. How many times have they allowed negligence to occur until it is TOO LATE? I'm sorry, but I have absolutely no faith in CPS especially in our "neck" of the woods. The agency is a joke....
Melody
Farmgirl #525 |
Edited by - melody on Nov 04 2011 05:17:43 AM |
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forgetmenot
True Blue Farmgirl
3602 Posts
Judith
Nora Springs
IA
USA
3602 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2011 : 07:27:27 AM
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I do firmly believe someone was watching out for this child, and sent that young man to find him. Wow, can't believe the tightness in my chest ,and I am tearing up. I can't imagine losing a child.
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the belief that something is more important than fear." Ambrose Red Moon |
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acairnsmom
True Blue Farmgirl
1319 Posts
audrey
cheyenne
wy
1319 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2011 : 09:12:13 AM
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I've just lost my 15 yo pup and have been wondering for days how Mom's with desperately ill young children can hold up like they do. Then you read a story like this and it just makes me sick. Yes, the child could have slipped out without the mother unaware but to be found more than a mile away from home? That would take anyone a while to reach so he had to have been gone for a significant amount of time and when they went to her house and she was just now checking the immediate surrounding area? Come on! She hadn't checked on that child in a long time. I'm not saying she's necessarily a bad mom, but she needs to readjust her priorities! Thank you God for protecting that child and sending him help.
Audrey
Toto, we're not in Kansas any more! |
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melody
True Blue Farmgirl
3305 Posts
Melody
The Great North Woods in the Land of Hiawatha
USA
3305 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2011 : 10:09:59 AM
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You see more and more stories like this in the news and it makes me wonder. It's as if the young ones today have NO clue how to take care of their kids. I know your child does not arrive in this world with a manual, but what is happening to some of our young mothers? Case in point... the missing baby, Lisa Irwin. What kind of mother drinks and drinks thinking well now the kids are in bed its okay for me to be doing this? What has happened to being accountable? Being responsible? I just don't understand it.
Melody |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22937 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22937 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2011 : 7:42:47 PM
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I am so glad the child was found- that God the man who found him was there. I too wonder why the mom didn't notice sooner that the child was missing and why she did not call 911. My heart has a panic attack at the thought of finding Nora missing. The one time I could not find her- we were at the horse barn and she told me she was going into the tack room to go potty. No problem since I was standing right by the only entrance. I turned around to speak with the manager for a minute and realized that she had not come back yet. I thought that she had slipped behind me while I was talking to the manager and I freaked out. I was screaming for her running around and about 5 adults dropped what they were doing to find her. She was inside playing hide and go seek from us which was NOT funny but event that little scare (she was only "missing" for about 5 minutes max- it felt like an hour!) made me realize how much more careful I had to be and I honestly don't think I will ever fully recover from it.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
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Dusky Beauty
True Blue Farmgirl
1108 Posts
Jen
Tonopah
AZ
USA
1108 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2011 : 7:53:16 PM
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Every mom on the planet has gone into a panic when their young child decides to hide in the clothing racks at the store... I always lock my doors, we have 2 or 3 little tykes that wander out into the desert every year here.
"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." ~Gandhi
http://silvermoonfarm.blogspot.com/
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.” ~Will Rogers |
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marthajane
True Blue Farmgirl
196 Posts
Anna
Orlando
FL
USA
196 Posts |
Posted - Nov 05 2011 : 9:09:28 PM
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In response to what you said Melody, and I totally agree with you,
they often fail to do what's right, because they are being PAID.
When we have social organizations who look after children because they truly care and never for the money, we will have a better chance at really getting problems solved, and answers to questions about the behavior of others. Sounds simplistic? But think about it...the motivation is always going to be money when money is offered for workers to do this job.
And something that bothers me greatly is that as far as I know CPS workers are NOT licensed/professional nvestigators...they do what they want, when they want, how they want. Anyone on MJF could do better than them.
Just saying...
Happiness IS being a MOM |
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melody
True Blue Farmgirl
3305 Posts
Melody
The Great North Woods in the Land of Hiawatha
USA
3305 Posts |
Posted - Nov 05 2011 : 9:29:41 PM
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My sentiments too, Anna.
I would give anything to go back to school and become a children's advocate.
Unfortunately, CPS centers around the ENTIRE family in situations regarding neglect and does not focus on just the child which I find completely bizarre. Who speaks for them? Who hears their cries?
Sorry....didn't mean to vent. Just makes me mad when I hear stories like this and that time and time again these kids "slip" through the cracks until it is too late.
Poor little boy. I can't even imagine what that must have been like for him.
Melody |
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marthajane
True Blue Farmgirl
196 Posts
Anna
Orlando
FL
USA
196 Posts |
Posted - Nov 08 2011 : 3:56:10 PM
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I know what you mean...people "posing" as child "protectors" (I have met so many people who work in this field...they are out for themselves...they say they really want to prevent abuse which is not possible unless people are dead or imprisoned) so thats not smart.
Should they strive to prove they are concerned for these dear children, IMO they would be showing examples, teaching, educating...and more...a paycheck for this would not be necessary
sorry just how I feel
Happiness IS being a MOM |
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Across the Fence: Runner Finds Baby in Woods |
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Runner Finds Baby in Woods
