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BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — What was supposed to be a day of fishing on Friday turned into a miraculous rescue for a Florida Marine Corps veteran who decided to spend his morning looking for a missing child instead, WFLA reported.
Roy Link, 62, found the toddler in dense woods after hearing the faint whimpers of 2-year-old Joshua “JJ” Rowland who vanished Thursday morning after wandering away from his home in Brooksville. The boy’s disappearance set off a desperate search for the youngster as law enforcement personnel coordinated the efforts, which involved tracking K9s, drones, and hundreds of volunteers.
One of those volunteers was Link, who is now being hailed as Florida’s “Man of the Year” following the amazing discovery, according to the New York Post.
Link is not only a Marine veteran, but a retired parks department supervisor in Hernando County as well, so he was extremely familiar with the area that was being searched. He was preparing to go fishing when he heard of JJ’s disappearance and joined the desperate search party as hopes began to fade.
“Something told me no, gotta do this.” Link later told reporters. “I was in the right place at the right time.”
JJ had been missing more than 24 hours when Link was combing through an area several miles from the toddler’s home. As he searched he also made an effort to carefully listen for any sounds of duress from the boy.
“I listened good,” he said. “I heard like a whimpering kind of noise and at that point, I was like, there’s no kids here, it’s gotta be JJ. And sure enough, I went in the woods, 100 feet from where I was at.”
When Link reached the frightened boy he extended his arms to his rescuer and began calling for his mother.
“We were just talking and both of us were getting a little emotional,” Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said alongside the local hero in a video posted to Facebook. “Little JJ climbed onto him and didn’t let go. He was so excited to see him.”
A 911 call captured the moments after Link made the discovery.
“Hey! I found him!” a caller, believed to be Link, says breathlessly as Rowland calls out for his mother in the background.
“How is he doing?” a dispatcher asks.
“He’s good, he’s good,” the caller answers. “Yup, he’s alive and well. I’m giving him some water and he’s wanting Mama.”
Link found the boy in a wooded area about 2 miles from his home.
The county parks retiree said little during the brief appearance with Nienhuis, yet it’s noteworthy that he asked for a little help while searching for the youngster
“I just want to add that I said a prayer about 10 minutes before I found him,” Link said with a grateful smile.
The deferential hero relished at his instant bond with the scared boy, according to the New York Post.
“I guess I made a friend real quick ’cause he hung onto me, and he didn’t want to go to anybody until his parents showed up,” he said.
JJ sustained some scratches and bruises, but otherwise fared remarkably well after a full day in the woods. The boy is now back with his family.
Meanwhile, Link commented that perhaps he and the boy will be able to spend time together in the future.
“Maybe he’ll end up being my hiking buddy when he gets older,” Link said.
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Source: www.lawofficer.com