KENTWOOD, Mich. — A Kentwood mother is thanking her neighbors and the Kentwood Police Department for helping her find her son.
Recently, Angie Hinkle said she was doing chores around her home when her child, Bennie was playing out in the front.
When she went to go look for him, she realized he was gone.
She and her husband searched for him until they realized it was time to call for help.
"I called his name a few times I walked around in the yard. I went inside and I searched quick, the whole house and I still didn't find him,” said Hinkle.
That’s when she said she called Kentwood Police to help her find her son. She said she also wrote on social media, asking neighbors to help.
She said the police sent someone over within minutes and neighbors quickly responded to her post, saying they were out searching for him.
One of those officers who helped to find her son was Captain Tim Wierenga.
"As a parent or as a person, I think everybody kind of has that same emotion where you just you can feel that pit of your stomach kind of feeling,” said Wierenga.
He was in the office when the call came in and viewed the video from the new drone pilot program the police were using to find the little boy.
He said the new technology helps the police department see the area at a different view and allows them to spread their search much larger than before.
“The detectives were coming out of the out of the woodwork from the office, you know, the people from different agencies or Kent County and Wyoming and Grand Rapids, I believe we were calling for canines, and any resource that we could,” said Wierenga.
He said they searched for the boy for over an hour and a half.
But after several minutes went by, Angie Hinkle said she found her son napping in the corner of her garage.
"He had curled up into a ball in this back little corner and he just was looking around, like, what's going on. And I scooped him up in my arms and I just hugged him,” said Hinkle.
Hinkle said she is very grateful for how quickly everyone came to help her. She showed her appreciation by writing a letter and presenting it at a town hall meeting, thanking both officers and her neighbors.
Both she and Captain Wierenga said if your child wonders off, do not hesitate and call police immediately.
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