Child found safe after Mozingo search

In the News

Local law enforcement personnel and other first-responders sprang into action late Sunday afternoon following a missing-child scare on the west side of 3,000-acre Mozingo Lake Recreation Park.

Nodaway County Sheriff Darren White said Monday that the school-age girl was later found safe at home with her parents.

White said the incident began when park patrons near the Mozingo equestrian RV camping area saw the child, wearing a pink jacket, and an adult man and woman enter a wooded area.

Later, the witnesses heard what sounded like gunfire and saw the couple emerge from the woods without the child. Fearing the worst, they called authorities.

Mozingo Lake is technically part of the City of Maryville, and White said Maryville Public Safety officers responded to the scene along with sheriff’s personnel and troopers from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

A three-and-a-half-hour search ensued as the western shore of the lake was combed by officers and rescue volunteers on foot, on horseback, and astride all-terrain vehicles.

White said a partial vehicle description and a possible identification of the girl’s father provided by a witness were used to track the family to their home, where both parents and the girl were found safe.

White said the couple was indeed in possession of a firearm, and that what were reportedly recreational shots were fired while the family was at the park.

Hunting, with shotguns only, is allowed in certain areas of the park, but Maryville Public Safety Director Keith Wood said Monday the firearm in question was discharged in a part of Mozingo where gun use is prohibited.

Wood said charges may be filed at some point, but that prosecution is not an immediate priority.

White said the second time the witnesses saw the couple, the child had simply wandered away a short distance and was apparently in no danger.

While the report caused considerable alarm for several hours, the sheriff said the witnesses probably did the right thing, even though their suspicions proved unfounded.

“At least these people were concerned enough that they called,” White said. “What if something had happened and no one called?”