The son of a pastor from South Carolina has been found safe, more than 12 hours after he disappeared by venturing into the dense woods behind his father’s church.
Gunner Blair, 13, disappeared after wandering into the woods behind the Langston Baptist Church in Conway, South Carolina. The Conway Police Department said that he was last seen at approximately 6 p.m. on Wednesday. His disappearance sparked worry and search efforts. A Facebook post by his father, Brandon Blair, said “everyone,” including Horry County Police, had been looking for the youngster.
The child was found safe on Thursday morning. He was considered a runaway, although Conway Public Information Officer June Wood told Newsweek that police are still uncertain about the nature of his disappearance.
Conway Police Department
“Our son Gunner is missing. He went into the woods behind our church at Langston Church and everyone has been looking including Horry County police,” Brandon Blair wrote on Facebook with a picture of his son. “If anyone sees him please call me or the police. He is wearing khaki shorts, brown T-shirt and blue jacket. Prayers are appreciated.”
Police began searching for the boy around 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Wood told Newsweek. As of Thursday morning at around 9:30 a.m. Eastern time, police were speaking with him about the nature of his disappearance.
Newsweek reached out to Brandon Blair through Facebook for comment.
The incident prompted Langston Baptist Church members to call for resources that could aid in finding the boy. One woman asked for a helicopter or small plane with thermal imaging and noted that the woods were “very dense” and led to “all different types of places.” She also questioned why he disappeared, saying: “I just don’t feel like he would walk off into the woods for no reason. I feel like someone has lured him.”
However, the boy was found approximately 2 miles from the woods in the area of Collins Park on 16th Avenue in Conway around 9:10 a.m. Eastern time.
Police were dispatched to search for Gunner Blair around 9 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday night, approximately three hours after he was last seen. Wood said the family first attempted to locate him themselves.
Nearly 100 community members joined the Conway Police Department in search of the missing 13-year-old on Thursday morning. Police and search dogs reportedly began searching the area on Wednesday night.
Gunner Blair is a seventh-grade student at Conway Christian School.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.