Update: The boy has been found safe.
+++++++++
Rescue crews are frantically searching the North Preston area for a missing 10-year-old.
Halifax RCMP, ground search and rescue crews and police dogs spent most of the day on the ground. A neighbourhood canvas is ongoing, check points are set up and a Department of Natural Resources helicopter is combing the area.
The boy was last seen in the community on Tuesday. He is described as black, 4 feet tall, and 75 pounds with dark hair and dark eyes.
An emergency alert was issued late Wednesday morning. RCMP say it was sent out because of the poor weather and the boy’s age. The region is getting hit with 50-75 mm of rain on Wednesday as a nor’easter sweeps south of the province.
“We are fully engaged and working closely with his family to find him safely and as quickly as possible. I want to thank ground search and rescue crews for being exceptional partners in the search, and the community of North Preston for their full cooperation and support,” said Sgt. Dave Legge, RCMP/HRP Integrated Criminal Investigation Division.
“We are asking anyone who does not live or work in North Preston to avoid the area to allow officers and search and rescue crews to do their work.” – Halifax RCMP
Search and Rescue teams use a boat to scour Long Lake near North Preston. (Photo: Jack Morse)
The rescue crews have set up a base at the North Preston Community Centre to help find the boy. Johnson was last seen wearing a blue puffy jacket along with black sweat pants and light blue sneakers.
Meantime, RCMP have Tweeted details clarifying an emergency alert is not the same as an Amber Alert. Those are issued when a child has been abducted.
The Tweet says “there is no evidence to suggest the boy has been abducted.”
With files from Jack Morse and Steve MacArthur
