A Mercer County boy is back home after he went missing in a cornfield for five hours. 2-year old Mason was playing outside at 2432 160th street in Preemption, Illinois. Authorities say Mason walked away from his play area and went right into the fields behind the house.
Shortly after he was found, Mason was reunited with his parents. An ambulance checked him out and he was fine, just dirty and thirsty. However, this happy ending wouldn't have happened without the help of hundreds of searchers.
"We just want to thank everybody for coming out, it's a relief," says Mason Father, "I don't know what else to say other than thank you so much."
When mason returned to his parents' arms, there were hugs, kisses and tears.
"We're very blessed," says Mason's Mother.
The search for Mason began at 10:40am when the 2-year old wandered into a cornfield. Word spread fast that Mason was missing and volunteers started showing up to help search for him.
"We dropped everything and came running out here to help look for him," says Volunteer Searcher Roger Bledsoe.
Many of the volunteers know Mason and his family.
"We just wanted to get him home to his mother, to his parents," says Volunteer Searcher Amber Matter, "That's all we wanted, to get him home safe."
Crews from local fire, police and sheriff's departments all came out to help. A search plane was brought in and the Iowa National Guard sent a helicopter.
"We had agencies as far away as Wisconsin calling to offer services for us today," adds Chief Deputy Jeff Dale with the Mercer County Sheriff's Department.
Mason was found five hours after he went missing by one of the volunteer search groups.
"Everybody was cheering, we got him and let everybody know down the line, there was 56 of us down the line," adds Matter.
The 2-year old was covered in mud and he started drinking water right away. Authorities say he's healthy and happy to be home.
Authorities say Mason ended up about a half mile to 3 quarters of a mile from where he was last seen. The area is completely covered in corn fields.
