Missing Prentiss County autistic teen found safe
Massive search effort was coordinated by the Prentiss County EMA
PRENTISS COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – It was around 9:15 on Monday night, June 16, and the search for Tristyn Shouse had wrapped up. That’s when a call came into 911 from a homeowner on Highway 366.
“According to the dispatcher, he told us there was a young boy walking across his yard,” Sheriff Tolar said.
Sheriff Tolar said Tristyn recognized school resource officers, who had been searching all day.
“They were the only ones, the SROs, that this child would respond to,” Tolar said.
The sheriff said Tristyn left his home on Highway 366 on Sunday night, June 15, walking west. His shoes were found on Monday morning, about two miles away. His parents noticed he was missing, called deputies, and the EMA director coordinated the massive search effort.
“There was law enforcement from several counties around here, other sheriffs and their departments, MHP, they came, several law enforcement agencies,” Sheriff Tolar said.
There were a lot of resources dedicated to the search, but in the end, Tristyn woke up, was hungry, and walked to the nearest house. Justice Court Judge Ray Hall is also the pastor at East Marietta Baptist, where Tristyn’s family attends. He says it was nothing short of a miracle.
“If the helicopter would have found him, if deputies had found him, officers had found him, if we had found him, the whole time we were driving yesterday, you would have thought, well they did a good job, but nobody found Tristyn, he walked out, it is almost like God saying, ‘Hey, I will get all the honor and glory for this,” Hall said.
Tristyn was released to his family after being checked by medics.
