By Billy Davis

The father and son who located a lost two-year-old Tuesday afternoon won’t be the subjects of “Monday morning quarterbacking” by local authorities, said Panola EMA director Daniel Cole.

The fact that Shelton Hawkins knew the terrain he was searching proved “invaluable” to a search of the thick woods along Morrow and Travis roads, said Cole.

 “What he did worked,” Cole said. “If there are people searching ground they’re familiar with, then they’re invaluable to a search.”

A family member of Colby Ridgeway called the sheriff’s department at 2:15 Tuesday afternoon to report the child had wandered away with Sugar, a white pit bull.

Hawkins and son Tyler found the child at 4:59, about 30 minutes after they entered the woods approximately a half-mile north of the Ridgeway home at 1749 Morrow Road.  

Hawkins told The Panolian he was familiar with the land east of Travis Road, where he checked ponds, pine stands and hardwoods before his son Tyler heard the bark of the pit bull.

Colby had a scratch on his face, one of his forehead and a couple on his legs, said his mother, Courtney Ridgeway.

Somehow the toddler eluded multiple searches around the Ridgeway home. He had traveled approximately three-quarters of a mile when the father and son found him in a creek.

“I wasn’t surprised Colby went that far,” said the mother. “He has a lot of energy.”

After talking to her son, the mother said Colby didn’t consider himself lost when he was found.

Shelton Hawkins made a similar observation, saying Colby was attempting to climb the bank of a creek when he was found.

“He was crying because he couldn’t get up the steep bank,” Hawkins said. “If he had made it up the other side, I believe he would have kept going.”

Courtney Ridgeway recalled that Colby was playing in the front yard, with his grandfather and uncle working nearby, when he was left outside only for a few minutes.

“My dad went out to check on him and he was gone,” she said.

After taking two days to ponder the search, Cole said he regretted failing to establish a bigger perimeter around the Ridgeway family’s home. Creeks north and south of the home should have been searched sooner and searchers should have established a better presence along Travis Road, he said.  

“Based on the time frame, we just didn’t believe the child could have gone that far,” Cole said.

The search was also hampered by a lack of aerial maps, Cole said. Panola EMA had recently purchased new laptop computers but the maps to show terrain were on the old laptop, which had been left behind at the office in Sardis.

Told that Hawkins believed authorities would frown on his desire to help, Cole said that wasn’t true. Three other search teams — all of them filled with untrained volunteers — were searching the woods when the child was found, he said.

“I would never tell anybody that, especially if they’re familiar with the land,” Cole said. “I would only ask, if you want to help, let us know where you are so we can coordinate the search.”

Better yet, Cole said, join Panola County Search and Rescue and train for the next lost person. Call 563-6245.