Children still missing after overnight search

AUGUSTA SPRINGS — A team of more than 100 law enforcement officials and volunteers continue to search through the Augusta Springs Wetlands this morning for two children who became separated from a party of six hiking a trail in the George Washington National Forest on Sunday.

The Augusta County Sheriff’s Office said searchers looked throughout the night in a three-square-mile wetlands area in western Augusta County for an 8-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl.

Four other members of the group who had gone missing, a 49-year-old woman and three other children, were found by the sheriff’s office by 8 p.m.

The sheriff’s office said volunteers are welcome today, but warned the terrain includes “extremely steep ground.”

“The area they’re in goes into an enormous area, the George Washington National Forest,” said Capt. Dwight Wood. “It’s a lot of area. How far these kids have gotten in there, nobody knows.”

Wood said no clues were found overnight.

The woman, a West Virginia native, told authorities that the group became separated from one another about 6:30 p.m. She and the children, ranging in age from 11 years to 12 months, were visiting friends in the area.

Cpl. E.L. Carter of the Sheriff’s Office said the group began their walk about noon and were reported missing about 4:30 p.m.  The Sheriff’s Office sent out fresh search teams about 8 p.m. to search on foot for the two lost children.

Searchers were told to concentrate on creek beds that lead through the wetlands to Little North Mountain. The hope was that the search teams would find the children along the creek beds. Carter said ATVs, a Virginia State Police bloodhound and helicopter were initially used in the search Sunday after-noon.

In addition to the sheriff’s office and Virginia State Police, the effort was aided by the Churchville and Craigsville fire and rescue squads, and the U.S. Forest Service.