KATHERINE BURGESS, and Tyler Whetstone

The Jackson Sun

PINSON — For the fourth night in a row hundreds of people bundled up with gloves, boots and reflective vests searched for Noah Chamberlin, and for the fourth night in a row nothing was found.

After a morning of specialized law enforcement searches, volunteers began aiding emergency responders again at about 6 p.m. Sunday and planned to search through the night in one-hour increments due to the sinking temperatures. The search had not found anything at press time Sunday. A request for additional volunteers may be made sometime Monday after a law enforcement search in the early morning.

Chester County Sheriff Blair Weaver gave a short press conference Sunday afternoon to update media members about Noah and called for more volunteers to begin gathering to search for the missing 2-year-old. Weaver took no questions at the press conference.

The search operation was law enforcement only Sunday morning. A plea was issued to law enforcement from across the state and nearly 250 police officers showed up to help, according to Eric Turner, Madison County fire chief and leader of Sunday evening’s search and rescue operation.

Madison County Sheriff's Office spokesman Tom Mapes said law enforcement did not expand the search area and the Chester County Sheriff’s Department continues to lead the investigation.

Little new information was released Sunday, but Mapes did answer some questions. He said authorities immediately checked the state's database of sexual predators when Noah’s disappearance was reported. Nothing related to those checks was found to be suspicious, he said.

“As soon as it happened on Thursday, boom,” Mapes said. “They immediately found three sex offenders within two miles and they were all over that. That was done quickly. It was the first thing they did.”

Mapes also addressed rumors regarding deer cameras, which he said showed no video related to Noah's disappearance. An Amber alert has not been issued because the investigation remains a search for a missing child, not an abducted child, Mapes said.

Asked what else the public can do to help, Mapes said, “Just pray hard. Pray as hard as everybody else is working.”

Turner said the response from the community has been “overwhelming.”

“I didn’t know with temperatures and conditions [being poor,] I didn’t know what the response would be, but we’ve got people standing in line waiting to be picked up to come over here,” Turner said Sunday night. “They all have the same common goal: get out here and find this child.”

A low temperature of about 14 degrees was expected overnight.

Volunteers David Niven and Matt Brunet were two of the hundreds who waited in line to help search for Noah. Niven has three children under 10 and Brunet has two. Niven said that’s why he came.

“I would hope, if this was my kid, that people would come out and do everything they could for me,” he said.

Both said the lack of information coming out didn’t deter them from coming. As long as there is a chance Noah is still there, that’s all that matters, Brunet said.

Church prays

Volunteers and church members prayed for Noah at Pinson Baptist Church during Sunday morning's service. The church and the old Pinson school next door are being used as a gathering point for volunteers and donations of food and other items to help in the search effort.

The Rev. John Gaters, pastor of Pinson Baptist, said he was humbled by the number of people aiding the search for Noah.

“Something like this happens which is tragic and you hate it, and yet in the middle of it you see people really do care,” Gaters said. “They really, honestly care about this child, they care about this family. I’m amazed.”

Many kneeled at the front of the sanctuary to pray for Noah near the end of the service. The service also began with singing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.”

“The thought of a lost child, Lord, brings many of us to tears,” Gaters prayed. “… We know you are ultimately responsible for that child, Lord. We know that you created him, that you love him.”

Turner said the search and rescue operation would continue throughout the day Monday. He said he couldn’t say if there would be a specific time when the operation would cease.

“We’re making plans for all day [Monday], and planning what we’re going to do [Monday] evening,” Turner said. “I hope we don’t have to use them. I hope we find him soon.”

Noah Chamberlin was reported missing at 1:20 p.m. Thursday afternoon. Police have said that Noah was walking with his grandmother and 4-year-old sister in the woods behind his grandparents' home when his grandmother lost sight of him. Law enforcement from multiple state and local agencies, as well as volunteers, have been searching around the clock since he was reported missing.

Since Thursday, hundreds of volunteers have taken to the woods behind the home in the 1800 block of Short Road to help find Noah. Many volunteers said they had never met the Chamberlin family. Volunteers from across the Mid-South, from Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Florida, have swarmed the old Pinson School to wait for buses to carry them to search for Noah.

Noah was last seen wearing a long-sleeved gray shirt and blue jeans. He is about two feet tall and weighs about 25 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call the Chester County Sheriff's Office at (731) 989-2787 or TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

Reach Katherine at (731) 425-9748. Follow her on Twitter @kathsburgess.

Reach Tyler at (731) 425-9629. Follow him on Twitter @tyler_whetstone.