Officers in South Bristol, New York, knew they were under a lot of pressure to locate a two-year-old child who had gone missing. It is one thing for kids to go missing during the day, but as night falls and the temperature lowers, the situation becomes much more serious for them. The officer in command of the search group was a New York State Trooper by the name of Brian Hotchkiss, and he was fully aware of how serious the situation was.
“The situation with this missing kid might become a lot worse. Because it is time-sensitive and depends on the season, even though it was a wonderful day, the temperature was falling,” Brian added.
He and the other members of the search team spent some time going door to door across the area, but no one seemed to have any information on the location of the little girl. As the sun began to set, Brian made the choice to start ascending the mountain that was just a half an hour away from the house where the girl lived. It took Brian a half an hour to make it to the peak of the mountain, and by that time he was completely out of breath. At first, all that was visible to him were the various shades of green and brown that the trees had. However, at that moment, he saw a lone pink dot out in the distance.
On a stone beside the stream, a speck of pink remained motionless. As he started to run over, Brian’s heart began to sink. He prayed the kid was still alive. “I followed the stream until I found the baby, who was laying on her stomach on a rock, and I rushed there as quickly as I could. When I saw her arm move, I knew she was alive, and my heart dropped. I was so happy that I raced up to her and she instantly hugged me and wouldn’t let go,” he said. The little girl was glad to have been discovered. She hugged Brian as if her life depended on it, which it did in some ways! If Brian hadn’t opted to lead his search group up the mountain, the story may have ended differently.
When Brian arrived, the child was shivering, so another officer covered her in his uniform to keep her warm. She was then carried away in an ambulance for further examination. Thankfully, she was given the all-clear by the hospital and was permitted to return home. Brian was left to reflect on the day’s dramatic events. “I still can’t get her rolling around and staring at me while flinging her hands up in the air out of my thoughts. That’s something I’ll never forget,” he stated. The story of the young girl’s rescue was picked up by news sources around the country, and viewers praised Brian’s fast thinking in the YouTube comments area. “Thank you very much for your service, sir,” one guy replied, “and be cautious out there. We can’t afford for you to go.” “Heartwarming scenario…. Good Job Trooper!” said another. Brian is an outstanding representative of the New York State Troopers. Check out his interview in the video below! Please SHARE this with your friends and family.