Danbury Cadet Finds Lost Child

DANBURY, Conn. - July 15, 2014 - PRLog -- By Captain Greg Sweeney, Deputy Commander Cadets

DANBURY, Connecticut – May 6, 2014 -- Cadet Tech Sergeant Noah Stillman, a cadet with Civil Air Patrol’s Danbury Composite Squadron, found a lost child while vacationing in North Carolina.

Cadet Tech Sergeant Stillman and his family were vacationing with family friends in Corolla, North Carolina over spring break. On April 12, 2014, shortly after arriving, the Stillman's learned that the 3 year old son of another family who was staying just down the street was missing. “We were all relaxing on the front porch, happy to feel the sun on our faces when a women walked by screaming, "Landon!" We asked if she was okay, and she informed us they were staying two houses down and couldn't find their 3 year old son Landon,” said Mrs. Karen Stillman.

That’s when Tech Sergeant Stillman's search and rescue training kicked in. He immediately asked for a description of the child, including what he looked like and what he was wearing. Stillman then got on a bike and headed in the opposite direction of the woman who was already searching for the child. He used his cell phone to keep in communication with his father who was assisting with the search by seen a young boy fitting the description of the lost 3 year old. If they had, Stillman followed the direction they gave as having last seen the boy. If they hadn't, he gave them the description again and asked them to keep an eye out so that they could assist in his search.

One of the people Stillman questioned said they passed a boy fitting the description on the beach not long ago and found it strange that he was unsupervised. Stillman quickly ditched his bike and ran to the beach and began following a child's footprints by the sand dunes. About a mile and a half down the beach he found a boy fitting the description. Tech Sergeant Stillman calmly approached the boy and confirmed he was the missing 3 year old. Stillman then telephoned his father who drove over and met them at the beach. He informed local police and the child’s mother that Landon was found and that he and his father returned the boy safely to his family. Upon returning to Landon’s house Stillman watched the mother hold her baby on the porch and cry while she and her family thanked him.

Cadet Tech Sergeant Stillman planned and safely executed a successful search and rescue mission using his training and good common sense. His actions were in the highest keeping of Civil Air Patrol and the Cadet Program, and reflect great personal credit on Stillman, his family, the 399th Danbury Composite Squadron, and Civil Air Patrol.