Missing Juveniles / Deputy Sheriff

Yesterday afternoon at approximately 6:00p.m. the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office received a 9-1-1 call from a juvenile male, who indicated he and his friend were lost in a heavily wooded / forested area at the National Wildlife Refuge located south of Dayton, Liberty County on F.M. 1409. Both juveniles were identified as Johnny Whitehead and Aaron Lloyd, both 12 years old and of Dayton, Liberty County.

Deputies from the LCSO responded to the area where the caller indicated they had entered into the woods. Several Deputies, moving apart from each other, entered the densely wooded area in a direct line. Two of the Deputies were only able to enter into the woods a short distance, however, the third Deputy, Deputy Marks was able to proceed a long distance into the woods as the sun began to set. It was at this time Deputy Marks was able to call out to and then hear the boys call back to him. The continued this activity for approximately thirty minutes to an hour and eventually he, Marks linked up with the missing boys. Deputy Marks made an initial assessment of the boys condition and quickly determined both were dehydrated and disoriented.

Deputy Marks, knowing the sun was setting and darkness was going to create more problems for he and the boys attempted to walk himself and the boys out of the woods, back to where Deputy Marks had entered into the woods to begin his search.

Captain Evans with the LCSO arrived on scene along with Liberty Co. EMS. After a short briefing by Corporal Thiess of the LCSO, Captain Evans called for air support as darkness quickly descended and the entire area was dim with visibility of only a few feet.

Deputies on scene and Fire Department personnel were using their sirens as a guide point for Deputy Marks. However, the echo effect of the sirens became a hindrance in the densely wooded area. Captain Evans, coordinating with Deputy Marks via radio, utilized a method of “pinging” by gunfire, which has a distinct, sharp sound wave with minimal echo effect. Captain Evans fired several times periodically over about one hour, Deputy Marks responding the like. Captain Evans and Deputy Marks agreed via radio they had become coordinated at a linear point, which narrowed the search area by miles.

Texas D.P.S. had, by this time, responded to the request for air support. A few moments later, Captain Evans received a report from Deputy Marks he too was exhausted, dehydrated and becoming disoriented. Captain Evans then called for a Coast Guard helicopter in an attempt to air lift all three from the woods as they were no longer able to proceed through the forest. The U.S. Coast Guard, without any hesitation, responded immediately.

Once air support was on scene, utilizing special night vision / heat seeking equipment, the exact location of the missing boys and Deputy Marks was determined. An attempt to lower a rescue swimmer to the exhausted trio was unsuccessful due to “rotor wash” which caused the large trees to strike against the rescue swimmer. At this point no air extraction was possible. By utilizing a newly installed multi-channel radio system, the LCSO, DPS and Coast Guard were able to formulate a coordinated plan of action between air and ground units to bring the three out to safety.

The Coast Guard remained overhead deploying their bright spot lights onto Deputy Marks and the boys. The DPS helicopter remained at a higher altitude to provide and overall scene depiction and guide a ground rescue team. One Deputy and several Fire Fighters from the Westlake and Dayton Fire Departments entered into the thick tree line with axes and began the difficult task of reaching the three by ground. After some time, the ground rescue team reached the exhausted boys and Deputy Marks. Both groups, now joined and still under the bright lights and assistance of the Coast Guard and DPS helicopters were able to cut and force their way back out of the forest to safety where waiting Liberty County EMS immediately triaged and treated all three for minor injuries and dehydration.

At this time all three have been treated and released and are at home recovering from this incident. The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank all of the Volunteer Firefighters and citizens who showed up on the scene and offered any assistance they could. Also, a special “thank you” to the United States Coast Guard and the Texas DPS Aircraft Division for your tireless efforts under extremely difficult circumstances. With everyone pulling and working together this incident ended with everyone going home safe to their loved ones.