An Oklahoma toddler seemingly disappeared while playing outside with his father on May 2, 2024. Walker Magnus, 3, was with his dad at their home in Pottawatomie County helping him feed their animals around 7:30 p.m. when his dad turned his back for what he says was just a moment, and the toddler was gone. He remained missing for nearly 15 hours, until a family friend showed up and saved the day.
Justin Black told KOCO he received a call that a friend's child was missing, and he knew he had to help. Shortly after he got off work on May 3, he went to the search area, and within 15 minutes, Walker was in his arms.
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Walker reportedly wandered away.
Travis Dinwiddie, undersheriff for Pottawatomie County, told KFOR that Walker and his dad were together and then the child was suddenly gone.
"He was with his father, they came up here to feed the animals, and he was outside playing, and, you know, just a split second not looking, and he just disappeared," Dinwiddie said.
The man searched for his son, and when he couldn’t find him, he called police for help.
Night fell, and the search continued.
Little Walker was alone overnight in a wooded area as search crews frantically tried to find him.
More than 100 people searched for the little boy for nearly 15 hours, but there was no sign of Walker, KOCO reported. As time went by, the family was desperate for help and called everyone they could think of. Black, a family friend, previously worked with a search and rescue organization in Colorado and seemed like the perfect person to help.
"I got off work early. A friend of the family called up and said, 'Hey, we're missing my nephew. Can you come help?' I said, 'I got off early. I'm on my way,'" he told KOCO.
Black used his past experience to his advantage.
He told KOCO that he had surveyed the search area and knew exactly where he wanted to look.
"We got a thousand people here that are all scanning out, so I said, 'Well, with the water and rain, I'm just going to search on the outside and start looking for tracks,'" Black said. "I went down. I started looking for drainages."
Within minutes, he had Walker in his arms.
Black told KOCO he found the child about 15 minutes after he arrived. He said Walker was unharmed and seemed happy to see him.
"Cheery as could be," Black recalled. "Just kind of started reaching out towards me and walked to the road, and someone was driving by the road on the side-by-side and picked us up."
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Walker's family was overcome with emotion.
His grandmother, whose name was not released, reportedly ran toward Black with tears in her eyes, thanking him for saving the day.
"And then grandma comes over and gives me a hug and starts getting me teared up," Black told KOCO.
Chad Larman, director of Pottawatomie County Emergency Management, told KFOR he was thrilled to have a happy ending. "I don't even know how to put it into words. I was happy, I was very happy to see that he was OK and he was going home with his mom and dad."
Paramedics checked out the child, and that he appeared to be fine, KFOR reported.
