Alabama hero locates non-verbal, autistic boy who'd been missing for 2 days: 'God sent me to do that'

A 4-year-old Alabama boy has been found alive and in seemingly good condition despite spending 50 hours alone in the elements, and the man who found him claims that it was all part of God's plan.

Around 12:30 p.m. last Friday, 4-year-old Phenix Wilkerson, who has been diagnosed with autism and is considered non-verbal, went missing in Clayton, Alabama, a town of about 3,000 residents located 75 miles southeast of Montgomery. Shyanne Ray, the boy's mother, claimed that she had left the family's camper to walk over to her mother's home. By the time Ray returned, Phenix was gone.

Day turned into night, and on Saturday, temperatures dropped to near freezing. By Sunday morning, there was still no sign of Phenix.

After law enforcement issued an emergency missing child alert, many officials and volunteers arrived to help with the search. One such volunteer, a 25-year-old mechanic named Markeith Williams, decided to join the group on Sunday after strong promptings from God.

"I had my auntie — she’s an evangelist — pray for me before we left," he said, "because I said it wasn’t going to work if she didn’t."

Williams and his wife, Valencia, then arrived at the search command center and followed as other people began to look for Phenix in an area of the woods where search teams had spotted small footprints the day before. Williams claimed he could sense that God was guiding him to Phenix's whereabouts.

"As I was getting closer to him, my heart started rushing, so that’s how I knew I was getting close," he explained. "I knew it was God with me."

His prayers may have paid off because Williams soon spotted Phenix lying about 150 yards away. As Williams got closer, he saw that the boy was alive and still wearing the same shirt from Friday, so he knew that the story would have a happy ending. "When I got closer and saw the shirt, I was like, 'There he is,'" Williams said.

Though barefoot and a bit frightened, Phenix appeared to be relatively clean and uninjured, Williams claimed. "His feet and stuff were pretty clean," he said. He was located approximately one mile from where he went missing.

After rescuers put socks on his feet and a coat over his shoulders, Phenix was eventually flown to a hospital for further evaluation. His current condition and whether he remains at the hospital are both unclear. As of now, no one has been charged with any crime in connection with his disappearance.

Phenix's grandparents, Sandra Yoemans and Andy Pittman, were effusive in their praise for God and for those who participated in the rescue efforts. "I would like to thank each and every person that has been here, that has helped with this search, and most of all I would like to thank the good Lord above for bringing him back to us alive. Thank everyone, news media, every person on the ground, everything, just thank y’all, thank y’all so much," said Pittman.

"I’m over ecstatic, I am praising God because this is his miracle that he brought this baby home. He’s had so many prayers, thank you everybody for all the prayers and everyone that’s been here to search; this baby is okay," added Yoemans.

Even Barbour County Sheriff Tyrone Smith hinted that finding Phenix safe and sound may have been the result of divine providence. "I would not be truthful if I told you that me and many others were probably thinking and looking for another result," Smith stated in a press conference, "but thank God it didn’t happen, and I’m glad we got the result that we do have."

Whatever others say, Williams humbly believes that God put him in the right place at the right time. "I was doing that because God sent me to do that," he stated.

Yoemans also credits her fellow man with her grandson's rescue. "Don’t ever give up on mankind," she said. "There is so many wonderful people on this earth that has got hearts of gold."

Meet the man who found Phenix, missing autistic boywww.youtube.com

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