Missing 4-year-old boy found safe, RCMP say

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Ian Holliday CTV News Vancouver

RCMP

Mounties in Mackenzie, B.C., say a four-year-old boy who had been missing since early Saturday afternoon has been found.

Hundreds of volunteers, as well as police and search and rescue crews from the surrounding area north of Prince George, worked throughout the day Sunday to find the boy.

Police said he was berry-picking with family when he became separated from them. This happened shortly after 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Officers were notified of the boy's disappearance shortly after 1 p.m. and called for assistance to help with the search.

Police and search and rescue crews from Mackenzie, Prince George, Fort St. John, Fort St. James, and Chetwynd are all looking from the boy.

An RCMP helicopter was also called in to assist in the search on Saturday. The helicopter was not able to resume the search Sunday because of weather conditions in the area, according to RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Madonna Saunderson.

Anyone in assisting in the search was asked to report to the command centre at Lions Lake Provincial Park on Saturday. On Sunday, the command centre was moved to Mackenzie Recreation Centre, Saunderson said.

In a Facebook post, Mackenzie resident Tamara Wiese encouraged members of the public to sign up to join the search effort. She also shared two pictures of the boy.

On Sunday morning, Mackenzie Search and Rescue posted that they had received hundreds of volunteers looking to join in the search.

Later in the day, the RCMP said in an email that the boy was found safe and had been reunited with his parents. Mounties did not provide further information.