GRIMES COUNTY, Texas – Three-year-old Christopher Ramirez was found alive Saturday morning and reunited with his his mother.
Ramirez was reported missing Wednesday afternoon. He disappeared near his Plantersville home in the 10000 block of Deer Park Lane in Grimes County.
The child’s family told deputies Christopher went missing moments after returning home with his mother and grandmother -- the trio had been out running errands. As the women were unloading the car, the boy, who was wearing a bright green shirt and Mickey Mouse shoes, chased a neighbor’s puppy out of sight of the adults. When the dog returned and Christopher did not, the family and their neighbors began searching for him. After about 20 minutes with no luck, the family contacted the Grimes County Sheriff’s Office for assistance.
Deputies, assisted by multiple K-9 units, responded and conducted a ground search through the evening and into the night. Several additional agencies and over a hundred volunteers soon joined the search. Christopher was finally found Saturday, near FM 1486 north of Highway 249 -- several miles from his home.
The child’s Grandfather Juan Nunez spoke about the child’s condition Saturday.
“He’s very weak and exhausted, he hasn’t eaten in four days but he’s ok. He was given an IV and some food,” said Nunez in Spanish.
Nunez thanked the volunteers and law enforcement officials who worked tirelessly to find Christopher.
“We are very thankful for everything and all the help,” Nunez said in Spanish.
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“It was a wonderful scene to see the mother embrace her child,” Grimes County Sheriff Donald Sowell said. “He was a little thirsty, imagine that.”
“It was a good day, a very very good day,” Sowell added.
Christopher was taken to Texas Children’s Hospital in The Woodlands where he was treated for dehydration. His mother, Araceli Nunez was seen accompanying her son to the hospital in an ambulance.
“We put our heart and soul into this, I know that for a fact,” said a Grimes County constable at the scene.
Tim Miller with Texas EquuSearch, which assisted in the search efforts, described the morning as unbelievable.
“In 21 years of doing this, this is the only the second time and I remember the first time, and that was only after a day,” Miller said. “At the end of the day yesterday it was like ‘I wonder if it’s even worth it’ and you know all these different speculations and everything go through your head and it was unbelievable.”
Authorities, along with Miller, do not believe foul play was involved in Christopher’s disappearance.
“All evidence pointed to the fact that he was here in those woods and we kept the faith on that search,” the constable said. “Everything we had pointed us to that he truly ran off into the woods and I’m going to tell your right now, this case really would not be solved without the unsung here of this case, the lady across the street. She’s an elderly lady, Ms. Graham, that saw the kid come out of the yard playing with the dog running down the street. Without her cooperation, without her story, I feel the investigation, the search would’ve probably went a different direction. She’s the unsung hero that had the story.”
Christopher’s case remains under investigation by the Grime’s County Sheriff’s Office, which said it will try to retrace the child’s steps.
View all KPRC 2′s coverage of the search for Christopher here.