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Brooklyn Lynn Lilly Found safe after spending 22 hours in Michigan woods.
A 2-year-old girl has been found safe after spending 22 hours in the woods near her Tawas, Michigan, home, officials said Friday.
When Brooklyn Lynn Lilly wandered away and was nowhere to be found, her family began to fear the worst, especially since temperatures were dropping — but in the end, it seems that the toddler simply wanted to explore.
Brooklyn Lynn Lilly’s family reported her missing around 2:20 p.m. from her home on the 1900 block of Laidlaw. TV5 received word that she was found just after noon on Thursday.
Michigan State Police Lieutenant Brian Cole says that the K-9 officer found Brooklyn in a wooded area and she is OK. She does have some superficial cuts but appears to be doing fine.
Brooklyn Lynn Lilly is about two feet tall and 30 pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a pink winter coat, blue jeans and black boots when she disappeared.
Brooklyn Lynn Lilly was apparently being watched by an elderly person and she wandered off into the woods.
The Michigan State Police canine unit and aviation unit assisted detectives with the search.
“We just want the public and everyone to know that she’s OK,” Cole said. “One of our K-9 officers found her.”
Police use old fashioned teamwork in situations like this. It’s the bond between man, and his best friend.
“We read off each other. We’ve trained together, we live together, it’s a partnership most people will never know. I know what he’s thinking, he know’s what i’m thinking,” Saginaw police officer Douglas Stacer said.
His 4-year-old German Shepherd is similar to the same ones used Thursday to track down Brooklyn.
Despite all the obstacles from mother nature these dogs are able to prevail where humans can’t.
“If someone is even a block away he can smell them before he even sees them,” Stacer said.
Dogs can smell up to 10,000 times better than humans.
The 2-year-old was taken to the hospital to get checked out.
Brooklyn Lynn Lilly had been missing almost 24 hours. Somehow she got out of her Iosco County home and went wandering into the woods. On Thursday she walked up to a canine officer and the search was over.
“I’m just going to hug her,” said Jerry Cook, Brooklyn’s uncle.
Other family members admit they feared the worst.
“It’s amazing. We really didn’t think it would happen. After searching for however long they’ve been out here it’s just amazing that she’s still healthy and OK,” said Alecia Cook, Brooklyn’s aunt.
She said Wednesday night was one of the worst nights she can remember.
“Nobody slept. I mean just constantly worried waiting for that phone call that we found her. This is awesome,” she said.
Brooklyn’s mom said she has a scrape on her nose and a few blisters on one of her feet. She’s eating a lot of pudding, looking forward to coming home.
“We just want to thank everyone for the help and thank goodness she appears to be OK,” Cole said.
The case of Brooklyn Lilly put the entire Tawas community on edge with hundreds coming forward to volunteer in the search.
Now that community is breathing a collective sigh of relief.
“The thing you have to worry about with kids, when they’re quiet something’s wrong,” said Patrick McDonald, neighbor.
McDonald recalls the moment Brooklyn’s family realized she was missing and the gut wrenching wait to find her.
“I mean she’s a 2-year-old and I have two daughters myself so I know what this is like,” he said.
The community is breathing a sigh of relief now that Brooklyn has been found unharmed.
“There were a lot of people praying for her hoping that she would be found safely and I prayed that the family would be happy and reunited again. It’s just fun it’s a good thing,” Janet Stimpson said.
Agencies/Canadajournal
