2 Young Brothers Go to Play Near the Woods, Then Get Lost. Authorities Found Them Alive the Next Morning
Two young brothers were found safe in a wooded area in central Mississippi in the early morning hours of Sunday, Aug. 3
The search began the evening before, after the siblings got lost in the woods
Authorities urge parents to arrange a set time for children to return home when they're playing outsideAfter an overnight search, two young brothers were found alive and well in a wooded area in central Mississippi.
On Saturday, Aug. 2, authorities received a report at around 8 p.m. local time that two boys, ages 8 and 10, were missing near Cato Circle in Pearl, a city of about 27,000 people just east of Jackson, the state capital. The residential area is surrounded by dense woods, the Chief of the Pearl Police Department, Nick McLendon, tells PEOPLE.
Before their family reported them missing, the brothers were playing outside, in a ditch near the edge of the tree line.
'It started getting dark, and they thought they were walking home, but they were walking deeper in the woods,' says McLendon. 'Next thing they know, it's totally pitch black dark and they're in the woods lost.'
https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf
Not long after, authorities had close to a hundred resources on the ground, from drones and K-9s to search and rescue teams. In nearby Jenkins Park, a command center was set up, the chief of police says. A coordinated search effort was underway by 10 p.m.
Emergency responders began the search with drones in the air and the dogs searching the wooded area. While the dogs eventually lost the scent, they had helped narrow down the search area, McLendon says.
'We had a pretty good area of where they last located the scent and footprints in the creek,' he says. At around 1:15 a.m. the next morning, the brothers were found by a heat-seeking drone about 1,000 meters into the wooded area. They were found lying down, according to authorities.
'They just got lost in the woods, got turned around,' says McLendon. The boys told officials that when it got dark and they were still lost, they decided 'to sleep there and wait for the sun to come up.'
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
They were transported to a local hospital, but were determined to be unharmed.
McLendon says their family was 'ecstatic' that the kids were found safe.
'They were happy to be reunited with their kids,' he says.
While officials encourage children to play outside, they urge their parents to keep an eye on them.
'We'd love for them to get off the devices and be kids outside, but just monitor them,' says McLendon. 'Especially when it starts to get dark, they need to have a set time to start coming back home.'
Read the original article on People
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC Sports
8 hours ago
- NBC Sports
Jimmie Ward was arrested Thursday after testing positive for alcohol
Texans safety Jimmie Ward was arrested Thursday, the second time in three months he has landed in jail. Ward tested positive for alcohol, his lawyer, Steve Jackson, told Aaron Wilson of KPRC. In June, Ward was booked on charges of assault family violence impeding breath/circulation, a third-degree felony under Texas law. Ward's fiancé alleges he assaulted, strangled and threatened her, and she later filed an emergency protective order against Ward. 'There was no contact with the complainant,' Jackson told Wilson on Thursday. 'The court has a zero-tolerance policy. As a sanction, he has to spend overnight in jail. There are no new allegations against Jimmie.' Ward has an Aug. 13 information setting court date, and on Aug. 31, the grand jury will hear the case. Jackson told Wilson he expects it to be no-billed and dismissed. Ward, 33, is rehabbing from offseason foot surgery and on the active/physically unable to perform list.
CBS News
13 hours ago
- CBS News
Coast Guard searches ocean near Venice Beach for missing 30-year-old woman
The U.S. Coast Guard and partner agencies continue to search Venice Beach and ocean waters on Thursday for a missing 30-year-old woman, whose personal belongings were found unattended near the Venice Pier Wednesday night. The woman has been identified as Ashanta Ayana Elise Cobb-McNeil from Las Vegas, Nevada. Family said she sometimes goes by "Loni Legend." Her phone, shoes, wallet and passport were found on the sand around 8:40 p.m. on Wednesday. The Coast Guard launched rescue crews as Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Los Angeles County lifeguards conducted shoreline and waterside searches. The Los Angeles Police Department is handling further investigations.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Forbes
Why Trucking Defense Attorneys Must Adapt For Gen Z
When UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was allegedly killed by Luigi Mangione in December 2024, the country's reaction revealed something deeper than headlines suggested. While national opinion clearly condemned the violence, a noticeable undercurrent emerged online. Plenty of younger Americans, especially on social media, began debating Mangione's alleged motives, and some even viewed him as an unlikely symbol of rebellion against corporate power. For many Gen Z observers, it wasn't about justification; violence was widely recognized as wrong. Rather, the reaction reflected deeper frustration with systems they perceive as rigged in favor of corporations and insurance companies over ordinary people. This generational perspective on corporate accountability has profound implications for trucking litigation, where these same jurors will decide cases involving large transportation companies and their insurers. For trucking defense attorneys, this reaction should serve as a wake-up call about the mindset Gen Z jurors bring to any litigation involving large corporations and their insurers because they harbor deep skepticism about corporate motives and systemic fairness. "The reaction to the alleged Mangione shooting tells us everything we need to know about how Gen Z views corporations and insurance," explains Chris Dunnells, a Mississippi-based defense attorney with Chartwell Law specializing in commercial transportation cases. "Where older people focused primarily on condemning the violence, many younger Americans expressed frustration with corporate systems they see as fundamentally unfair. This completely changes the dynamics in trucking cases because these jurors come in already believing that big trucking companies and their insurance carriers prioritize profits over road safety, driver welfare and protecting the public." The Perfect Storm: Corporate and Insurance Skepticism Generation Z's skepticism toward corporate defendants extends beyond specific industries like healthcare to encompass what they view as a systematically unfair system where large companies and their insurance carriers work together to avoid responsibility. In trucking litigation, this creates a uniquely challenging environment because insurance is always present, even when not explicitly mentioned. "Even when we never mention insurance in court, Gen Z jurors know it's there, and most have negative perceptions of the entire insurance industry," Dunnells explains. "They view insurance—auto, health, commercial—as fundamentally exploitative. These jurors believe insurance companies are happy to collect premiums but will fight aggressively to avoid paying legitimate claims when people actually get hurt." This creates what Dunnells describes as a "perfect storm of skepticism" in trucking litigation. Gen Z jurors don't just view the trucking company negatively; they assume there's an insurance company with deep pockets working behind the scenes to deny justice to injured plaintiffs. "These jurors think they're not just deciding a case—they're fighting against a rigged system," he notes. "They see the defendant as representing everything wrong with corporate America: companies that put profits before safety, backed by insurance companies that take your money but won't pay when you're hurt." The result is what Dunnells calls a "moral override phenomenon." "These jurors will sometimes disregard normal liability standards and damage calculations because they believe they're delivering justice against a corrupt system. It's not just about compensating an injured person—it's about correcting systemic unfairness." Attention: The Prerequisite to Persuasion Beyond their corporate skepticism, Gen Z jurors present unique challenges in how they process information. Raised on short-form digital content and rapid-fire social media, they expect immediate engagement and visual stimulation. "Gen Z processes information completely differently than older generations," Dunnells observes. "They've grown up with TikTok and YouTube where content is fast, visual and designed to grab attention immediately. They expect compelling visuals, clear narratives, and payoffs within minutes, not hours." The solution requires adopting proven engagement techniques from digital media while maintaining legal professionalism. "Think about how effective content works," Dunnells notes. "It hooks viewers with compelling questions, then maintains engagement by promising important revelations. We need to structure our cases similarly: create genuine curiosity that keeps jurors engaged through the technical details they need to understand." The most challenging aspect of adapting to Gen Z jurors involves making legal presentations more engaging without sacrificing substance. This isn't about entertainment, but recognizing that effective persuasion requires sustained attention. "There's a crucial difference between cheap theatrics and smart engagement," Dunnells argues. "I'm not advocating for courtroom circus acts. But when jurors mentally disengage, even the strongest legal arguments become worthless. You must maintain their attention to have any chance of persuading them." This requires what he calls "authentic amplification"—presenting genuine professional competence through communication methods that resonate with contemporary attention patterns. "We can't assume that jurors will naturally find truck physics fascinating, so we need to present technical evidence in ways that maintain their attention without oversimplification or condescension," Dunnells explains. Why Trucking Defense Lags Behind While plaintiff attorneys have embraced more dynamic presentations in trucking litigation, defense attorneys have been slower to adapt, according to Dunnells. "The trucking defense bar has traditionally prided itself on being the serious, professional side," Dunnells observes. "There's been this attitude that solid legal work and good science should speak for themselves—that if you're right on the facts and the law, that should be sufficient. But that's not how human psychology works." This resistance becomes particularly problematic when defending major carriers against sympathetic plaintiffs. "When you're representing a multi-billion-dollar trucking company, you're already starting at a disadvantage with Gen Z jurors," Dunnells notes. "You can't afford to compound that disadvantage by appearing disconnected or failing to engage them." The Nuclear Verdict Reality The stakes are substantial. Generation Z jurors have demonstrated greater willingness to award significant damages compared to older generations, making them particularly concerning for trucking companies in an era of escalating jury awards, says Dunnells: 'Gen Z represents a potential turning point in trucking litigation that defense lawyers ignore at significant risk. When you misread boomer jurors, you might see some variation in verdict amounts. But with Gen Z, when you fail to connect, you're not looking at slightly higher damages—you're potentially facing nuclear verdicts that can devastate carriers and reshape industry operations.' Practical Adaptation Strategies The solution isn't wholesale abandonment of proven strategies, but thoughtful evolution. "This isn't about discarding everything that works," Dunnells clarifies. "It's about evolving how we present the same solid legal arguments and technical evidence. We're using more effective communication methods to deliver identical content, just in ways that actually engage modern juries." Adapting The Defense For The Benefit Of All Jurors Importantly, these adaptations benefit all jurors, not just Gen Z. "These aren't just accommodations for young jurors," Dunnells emphasizes. "They're better ways to communicate complex information that help everyone understand the case better. When we use visual demonstrations and clear analogies, we're leveraging how the human brain naturally processes information most effectively." Research supports this universality. While Gen Z grew up with short-form content, data shows that all generations now engage more effectively with condensed, visually-enhanced information than traditional text-heavy presentations. The Path Forward As Generation Z becomes an increasingly significant force in jury pools, trucking defense attorneys face a choice: adapt thoughtfully or risk consequences that could reshape the entire transportation industry. "We have two options in trucking litigation," Dunnells concludes. "Adapt proactively and control how we evolve our practice, or get forced to adapt after suffering catastrophic verdicts. The strategic move is recognizing this shift and adjusting before we learn through painful experience." The trucking courtroom of the future will belong to those who can bridge generational divides; attorneys who speak the language of digital natives while presenting complex legal arguments in ways that transcend generational boundaries. The most persuasive trucking defense will be the one that truly connects with the minds that will decide whether a carrier faces a manageable verdict or a nuclear judgment.
