Outside 'The South': Search efforts continue for missing Tennessee 2-year-old lost since Thu
Noah Chamberlain (Source: TBI)
By Sasha Jones
By Ian Silver
CHESTER COUNTY, TN (WMC)
Noah Chamberlin, a 2-year-old from Pinson, Tennessee, has been missing since Thursday.
Investigators called a news conference for 4 p.m. Tuesday to update the search. WMC Action News 5 will be there, and you can watch the announcement live on air and online.
Monday morning, Chester County Sheriff's Office held a news conference to provide an update on the search. Sheriff Blair Weaver said the mission is still considered a search and rescue, which means he believes Noah will be found alive.
Weaver would not comment on any clues or traces of Noah found in the search. He did say the family is cooperating and there is no criminal investigation. Child services has not been called.
Despite the frigid temperatures, law enforcement officers and volunteers are searching night and day in an attempt to bring him home. First responders are only allowing people to search for an hour at a time because of the frigid temperatures.
"I was heartbroken,” volunteer Jean Milen said.
The hundreds of volunteers searching for Noah feel the same.
Authorities said Noah vanished during a hiking trip with his grandmother and sister. He was last seen at about 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
"The terrain is very treacherous,” said volunteer Pete Helton.
For the last three days, volunteers have searched that terrain.
"They picked up some foot prints, they had some guys who picked up foot prints,” Helton said.
Local law enforcement and TBI agents were on the ground Sunday with search dogs, but in a last-ditch effort, volunteers were asked to come back and help through the night.
"The main thing if they can't get out is to continue praying,” Milen said.
Volunteers are not losing hope and upping their search efforts.
"I feel like God's got his hands around him; he's a child," Helton said.
"You always think the worst, but you always got the hope that the child is ok," volunteer David Armour said.
Armour lives near the search site and has been doing all he can to help find Noah. He said he once lost a calf in the same woods.
"We rescued the calf, but he'd been in there a couple of days,” Armour said. “But, I don't know. It's hard to imagine a child out that long."
Tom Mapes with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, which has been assisting in the search, said there has been little to give people new hope.
"We have actually found nothing as far as any dog scents, any clothing; we've had nothing with the infrared from the helicopters,” Mapes said.
Mapes said it is hard to believe at this point.
"We have found nothing,” he said. “And it's just frustrating and bewildering, because it doesn't make any sense. And how long can you go like this?"’
It is easy for doubt to set in, which can lead to speculation.
"A lot of things don't make sense from what you've heard. But a lot of rumors going around that possible foul play from the family, but I don't know. It's hard to say,” Mapes said. "We all have an opinion and we can all speculate, but none of us know anything right now. Nothing."
A moment of silence was held at the moment the search reached 96 hours for searchers to pray Noah will be found safe.
"It'd be great to find him alive and well. That's all anybody can hope for."
The cold temperatures have made the search even more difficult. Groups of 50 volunteers at a time are battling the harsh temperatures as well as exhaustion.
“It's rough going,” volunteer Brian Reid said. “I've been doing this for four days now, and I'm getting pretty well pooped out."
Reid lives near the search area and has fought exhaustion and the temperatures to help find Noah.
"Insulated gloves, I have insulated underwear, and I have some tall boots to go over my regular boots,” Reid said.
However, 2-year-old Noah does not have any of that to protect him.
"In this weather and the conditions in that woods, I don't have much hope,” Reid said. “But, you've got to hang in there. You never know. Miracles do happen, and I hope this is a miracle."
The search crews have expanded their search area, but Reid is not the only one who thinks it will take a miracle to find Noah alive in this weather.
"Hard to believe, unless the child was in a hole or down in a warmer place, up under a tree stump or something like that,” Armour said.
Mapes said it is hard to ignore the facts.
"Medically speaking, you run out of time somewhere along the line,” he said. “But we don't think we've crossed that line yet, because Sheriff Weaver still says search and rescue."
Despite all this, the searchers are still clinging to faith and hope.
"Just about in tears right now,” Reid said. “I just--I just hope to God that we find him alive."
"Last night and tonight have been the almost deal breakers," volunteer Charlotte Webb said Monday,
The temperatures have not stopped volunteers from all over from showing up to Pinson Baptist Church.
Noah's family has yet to speak out, but neighbors said investigators have surveyed the neighborhood.
"We have this mindset that we won't be here tomorrow or the next day," organizer Dalterrise Clark said. "I just can't imagine the pain that the family is going through."
Clark is one of many relying on faith.
"I believe in miracles and I am hoping and praying for a miracle," she said.
The FBI is now assisting with the case, but it is not clear if that means there is a criminal investigation.
Meanwhile, volunteers in Pinson are asking for donations. Items they need include water, batteries and warm clothing. You can bring these to the Pinson Baptist Church at 111 Church Street in Pinson.
A coworker of Noah's father set up a gofundme to help the family with everyday expenses while they search for their son. With more than 130 donors, the fundraising campaign raised almost $6,300 in just three days. Click here to donate.
If you've seen Noah, call the Chester County Sheriff's Office or TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.
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