Search and rescue team finds missing teen after lost night in woods

NATCHITOCHES PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A search and rescue operation ended happily Sunday morning when Natchitoches and Winn Parish deputies located a missing teenager.

According to the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff's Office, family members reported the 16-year-old missing around 10:12 p.m. Saturday. They told 911 operators that the juvenile never returned from the woods to a deer concession near Shady Grove Road.

They also reported that the teen was prone to heat-related illnesses. Natchitoches was under an extreme heat alert Saturday, and the area reached 100 degrees with high index values.

Family members tracked the juvenile on Life 360 ​​but were unable to locate him once they arrived. Police officers attended the scene to gather information and coordinate search efforts.

The Winn Parish K-9 Pursuit and Tracking Team and NPSO deputies on all-terrain vehicles joined the search while an EMS unit and members of Fire District No. 6 from Natchitoches Parish were on site.

Search team members found the teenager safe around 2:30 a.m. Sunday. They took him by all-terrain vehicle to the emergency medical services unit to be examined. They left him in the care of family members.