Joe Clyde Daniels search: Sheriff asking for footage from trail cameras in search for child

The search continued Thursday for missing 5-year-old Joe Clyde Daniels in Dickson County as agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation looked into a "credible" sighting that was reported early Wednesday.

Roughly 100 volunteers gathered Thursday morning at Friendship Baptist Church on U.S. 70 to search for the missing boy, and Dickson County Sheriff Jeff Bledsoe confirmed that TBI has received a tip indicating the child was spotted early Wednesday morning.

UPDATES FROM FRIDAY: Footprint found, investigators say Joe Clyde could still be alive

Though Bledsoe declined to comment on a specific time, he said TBI learned that the boy was seen walking on Garners Creek Road, roughly 100 yards from his home, by a passerby.

"We do have a man who came through the area early yesterday morning that saw the exact description of the child that’s missing," Bledsoe said.

Bledsoe on Thursday also asked for anyone who lives in the area of Garners Creek Road to check their outdoor surveillance systems or game cameras for any possible sightings of Joe.

Two different search dogs Wednesday directed officials west behind the family's trailer on Garners Creek Road, though neither the dogs nor search parties have found indicators to prompt the search to expand further.

"We're not just searching for the little boy," Bledsoe said. "We're looking for signs of any clues that would tell us he came this direction."

Authorities believe the boy didn't stray far

Authorities initially reported that Joe Daniels was last seen Tuesday night wearing pajamas. They received a call reporting Joe missing around about 7 a.m. Wednesday, said Rob Fisher, director of the Dickson County Emergency Management Agency.

Joe has blond hair and blue eyes, is 4 feet tall and weighs 65 pounds. He is autistic and non-verbal, according to TBI.

Bledsoe said Thursday that the boy was last seen wearing black pajamas featuring a skeleton design, similar to a costume.

Though the tip to TBI appears to place Joe near his house Wednesday morning, Bledsoe said it hasn't changed the direction of focus in the search, which has primarily been within a couple miles of the family's home.

Officials only accepting 100 volunteers at a time

The sheriff's office capped the number of search volunteers Thursday morning at 100 in order to divide them into teams and provide each with GPS devices to track which areas had been searched.

Though Bledsoe said his department had received that number of volunteers for the morning search already, he may call for a "second wave of volunteers" to come later in the day to give others a break.

On Wednesday afternoon, volunteers had continued to arrive to help at the Tennessee City Volunteer Fire Department on Highway 70. Around 5 p.m., officials sent out a text alert countywide stating no more volunteers were needed due to the outpouring of support as well as congestion at the highway’s intersection with Garner Creek Road.

"I'm a stay-at-home mom of two boys myself," said Tasha Cauthen, among the Dickson County residents who had volunteered Wednesday to help search.

She found someone to watch her children.

"I just know I would want all of Dickson County looking if it were my babies," she said.

Justin Priami, a father of two young children, left work early to come offer his help, noting that he even saw an elderly man with a walker helping on the search.

"It's been overwhelming ... all the parking spots are filled. And some of the businesses are having their parking spots taken up,” Bledsoe said. "We have people that are here waiting to see if they can volunteer their services."

Bledsoe said the search teams were sent out into a roughly 2-mile radius of the residence, working with GPS and documenting the area searched.

"You name the counties that are around us, and there are people who have called us and are on their way to help,” Bledsoe said Wednesday. "It's a huge response. I wouldn't expect anything less from Dickson County ..."

On Thursday, a helicopter from Tennessee Highway Patrol and aircraft from TBI were scouring the area from above.

The Dickson swiftwater team, consisting of several members of the Dickson Fire Department, has also been deployed to search nearby bodies of water. Firefighting crews also drained ponds in the area during the search.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Joe Daniels is asked to call 1-800- TBI-FIND (1-800-824-3463), or contact the Dickson County Sheriff’s Office at 615-446-8041, ext. 0.

More: 5-year-old missing in Dickson County, crews searching