Page 7 of My Child is Missing

Luke made a noise of acknowledgment and continued on. Blue zigzagged between trees and hopped over rocks. A few times Josie was startled by the movement of other animals nearby—squirrels, rabbits, and even a small group of does which Blue scared, causing them to scatter. Blue barely gave them a glance, too focused on following Savannah Patchett’s scent. Josie sidestepped multiple piles of animal excrement, each time relieved to see that the droppings were from neither coyote nor bear. They came to a ravine, and Blue sniffed along its edge but continued onward. Josie leaned over the precipice to make sure no one was lying below, but there was nothing but more brush and rocks. Luke and Blue had just taken a left behind a large oak tree when she finally heard Blue bark. Then came Luke’s voice. “Josie!”

After that, a bloodcurdling scream.

Josie broke into a sprint, feet flying over a large rock. Blue sat to attention next to a dead tree trunk that had fallen across a shallow ravine. His worried eyes followed Luke as he knelt beside the tree, peering into the small opening between the trunk and the earth. Another high-pitched scream of terror sounded, sending Luke back to his feet. Face pale, he met Josie’s eyes.

“It’s her,” he said. “The younger one.”

Josie nodded. She handed him her radio. “Call it in.”

While he took a few steps away and spoke into her radio, Josie got down on her hands and knees and stared at the face of Savannah Patchett. Her curls frizzed wildly around her face. A smudge of dirt streaked one of her tear-stained cheeks. Eyes wide with terror, she shrank from Josie, curling more tightly into the tiny ball she’d made herself into. Behind her was only a wall of dirt. She didn’t scream again though, which Josie counted as progress.

“Savannah,” Josie said. “My name is Detective Josie Quinn. I’m with the Denton Police Department. I’m here with my friend, Luke and his dog, Blue. We came to take you back to your parents.”

Savannah stared at Josie, unblinking.

Josie repeated her words and then extended a hand to the girl. “Can you come out here with me?”

Savannah didn’t move.

Josie said, “You’re safe, Savannah. We won’t hurt you. If you’d like, I can get your parents on my radio, and you can talk to them before we do anything else. Would you like that?”

No response. No movement. The girl’s eyes stayed locked on Josie’s face, suspicious, terrified.

Luke walked back to Josie but stayed out of Savannah’s sight. Josie motioned for him to hand back her radio. After a couple of minutes, Shelly Patchett’s voice filled the air. It sounded as though she was crying. “Savannah? Savannah? Are you there? Baby, please talk to me.”

Josie got onto her chest and shimmied along the ground, getting as close to Savannah as she dared. She held out the radio, pointing at the various controls. “Press here when you want to talk.”

Savannah looked at the radio but didn’t take it. Shelly continued to speak, begging her daughter to respond. Josie wriggled closer to the girl, arm aching as she held out the radio. “I’ll press the button,” she said. “You talk.”

She depressed the button and held the radio close to Savannah’s face. The girl licked her dry lips and said, “Mom?”

Shelly’s voice came back, several octaves higher than before. “Oh baby! Thank God. Thank God you’re okay. You go with the police officers, okay? They’ll bring you back to us.”

Josie held the button down once more and Savannah squeaked out an “okay.”

Extricating herself from beneath the tree, Josie sat back on her heels and pocketed her radio. She held out a hand to the girl. “Are you ready?”

Several seconds ticked by before Savannah slowly crept out. She wore blue cotton shorts, the back of which was covered in dirt. One of her elbows was bloodied. She looked all around, taking in Josie, Blue, and Luke, then studying the rest of the area before trying to stand up. Both her knees bore fresh, bloody abrasions. Her white T-shirt featured the logo of her school’s soccer team as well as a large tear in the side. Her legs trembled and collapsed under her. Josie caught her before she fell, holding her upright. She was about the same size as Harris.

Blue whined. Josie said, “Are you hurt, or are your legs stiff from being in that little space for so long?”

Savannah shook one leg and then the other, studying the matching cuts on her knees. Slowly, she inched away from Josie’s touch. “I fell and got cuts,” she mumbled. “But I also feel stiff.”

“Do you think you can walk?” Josie asked her.

“I can give you a piggyback ride if you want,” Luke offered.

Savannah stared at him wordlessly. A small kernel of trepidation burrowed into the pit of Josie’s stomach. She had rescued her fair share of kids after they’d been lost in the woods. Usually, they were freezing or wet from rain or they’d injured themselves too badly to walk, but their spirits, particularly after being found, were high. Even the quieter ones perked up when told they’d be reunited with their families within an hour.

Savannah seemed stunned.

“Did you hit your head, Savannah?” Josie asked her.

She slowly felt the back of her skull. “I don’t think so. I fell on my hands and knees.” She held up her hands so Josie could see the scrapes striping the meaty parts of her palms.

“Do you think you can walk?” Josie asked again.

When she didn’t answer, Josie wondered if she was going into shock. A glance at Luke’s worried face told her that he was concerned about the same thing. Turning to Savannah, she added, “Or I can give you a piggyback ride. It might be faster. We want to get you back to your parents as soon as possible. We’ll also need to get you checked out by the paramedics to make sure you’re okay.”

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