Parents "extremely grateful" after NJ state troopers rescued 4-year-old son who got lost in the woods
BUENA VISTA TWP, N.J. -- The parents of a 4-year-old boy named Parker who got lost in the woods with his dog and was found by New Jersey state troopers said they're "extremely grateful."
They said it only took moments for Parker to disappear.
"He's 4, he has no sense of danger yet. He's swift on his feet," said Parker's father Jason.
He described the moment he realized his son wandered off from their home in Buena Vista, Atlantic County last Tuesday.
"I was panicked, absolute panic. He's my little man," he said.
One minute they were making cupcakes, and the next his son and their dog Toby were gone. And it was starting to get dark.
"I knew Toby was with him. So I knew he'd at least be protected by any animal that would come along, because those two are best friends," he said. "After a while, I called my wife ... and she said call the police."
Parker's mother Victoria said police and the whole neighborhood stepped up to help.
"The neighbors have a golf cart and they were traveling around the woods, and they said that they could hear him back there," she said.
Police found Parker after about an hour. Body camera video shows a trooper running to get him.
"Started running towards the crying, and first thing I saw was actually the dog. Saw him doing some circles so I figured we had to be close. Then I saw the child walking up. He was visibly crying, he was upset," said Trooper Ian Emmi.
Parker's mother was not far behind.
"It was like a surge of energy. I was just like 'Oh my God! There he is,'" she said. "Just extremely grateful to everyone, the whole neighborhood that put in the effort to find my son."
Parker was cold, but he wasn't hurt. His parents said they gave Toby a reward.
"He's already had his top sirloin steak," Parker's mom said.
As for Parker, he got to finish making his cupcakes, and he even got a cake from the troopers.