Toddler 'alert, smiling' after missing a day in Houston-area national forest

Steve Degner from Montgomery Search and Rescue thumbs up the ambulance transporting Ezra, the three-year-old boy that went missing at the Sam Houston National Forest. Sunday, May 28, 2017, in Waverly. ( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston Chronicle ) less Steve Degner from Montgomery Search and Rescue thumbs up the ambulance transporting Ezra, the three-year-old boy that went missing at the Sam Houston National Forest. Sunday, May 28, 2017, in Waverly. ( Marie ... more Photo: Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle Photo: Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 26 Caption Close Toddler 'alert, smiling' after missing a day in Houston-area national forest 1 / 26 Back to Gallery

The 3-year-old boy who went missing in Sam Houston National Forest Saturday has been found safe.

"Ezra was just found in the national forest and he's been brought to the command post. He's alert, smiling and reported to be in good condition," said Jimmy Williams, spokesman for the New Waverly Fire Department. "A great day, a great effort. We appreciate everyone's support."

The boy was found in some high brush about a mile from the campsite near Forest Road 208. Ezra was given preliminary medical treatment and then taken to the hospital around 2 p.m., officials said.

"We were hoping for the best and expecting the worst," said Tim Miller, founder of Texas EquuSearch. "I'm speechless right now."

More than 200 experienced searchers spent nearly a day combing the woods in Waller County Sunday searching for the child. Searchers included members of the Sam Houston Trails Coalition, who road dirt bikes through the terrain.

The search area centered around an approximately 4-mile stretch of Forest Road 208, a dirt road cut through dense pine woods with thick underbrush. A boat with sonar searched a small lake in the area.

"Everywhere that there's a cut (in the brush), we're going to look in it," said Larry Faulk, a visitor to these woods for 40 years.

Some volunteers had been involved with multiple searches in the forest before and said they always ended well, though no one could remember a lost person as young as 3.

Search crews are on the hunt for a 3-year-old boy, only identified...

Eventually, a dog picked up Ezra's scent and the boy responded to a relative's call, searchers said.

New Waverly Firefighter and EMTs were the first emergency personnel to reach the area where searchers located the child.

"They assessed him and quickly moved him to a waiting Walker County EMS unit for further evaluation. He was treated at the scene for minor scrapes and scratches and dehydration, but was otherwise alert and in good spirits," according to a statement from the fire department fire.

Officials were excited to report Parrish had been found. As a procession of search and rescue trucks from various agencies tumbled out of the forest, Williams, Miller, and Steve Degner with Montgomery County Search & Rescue, cheered them on.

"Anytime we find someone alive it's the best outcome we can get," Degner said.