Toddler Was Missing for 15 Hours — a Family Friend Found Him 15 Minutes After Joining Search
Justin Black found the 3-year-old walking around less than a mile from his home in Oklahoma
A family in Oklahoma gets a happy ending now that their toddler son has been found safe by a family friend after spending 15 hours alone overnight outdoors.
According to ABC affiliate KOCO News 5 and KFOR, 3-year-old Walker Magnus was found safe after about 15 hours of wandering outdoors alone in Pottawatomie County, Okla.
The toddler went missing on the evening of May 2 during a routine trip with his father.
“He was with his father, they came up here to feed the animals and he was outside playing and you know, just a split second not looking and he just disappeared,” said Travis Dinwiddie, Undersheriff for Pottawatomie County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) told KFOR.
Chad Larman, Director of Pottawatomie County Emergency Management told KFOR that nearly 100 first responders and volunteers were searching for Walker locally.
Related: 12-Year-Old Boy Who Ran Away from Home Found Safe After Spending the Night in Ohio Target
Justin Black told KOCO that it took him "15 minutes" to find the boy when he joined the search at the request of his friend, Walker's uncle. Black began aiding in the efforts when he got home from work early on the morning of May 3.
"We got a thousand people here that are all scanning out, so I said, 'Well, with the water and rain, I'm just going to search on the outside and start looking for tracks,' " Black explained, highlighting how his previous search and rescue experience helped him find the boy quickly. "I went down. I started looking for drainages."
Walker was found less than a mile away from his home "up under a tree" Dinwiddie told KFOR.
Black noted to KOCO the boy was "cheery as could be" when he was found. "Just kind of started reaching out towards me and walked to the road, and someone was driving by the road on the side-by-side and picked us up."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Walker was reunited with his parents, who held him tightly on the morning of May 3, and then Black shared an emotional moment with the boy's grandmother.
"Grandma comes over and gives me a hug and starts getting me teared up," Black recalled.
Authorities confirmed to KFOR that Walker was taken to the emergency room as a precaution and he is in good health.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
