UPDATE @ 11:24 a.m. (June 23):
UPDATE @ 9:20 p.m. (June 22): The Clark County Sheriff's Office is considering pressing charges in the Perry Beller missing child incident and has discussed with the family ways to prevent the boy from running off.
"We have discussed that with the family," Maj. Chris Clark, operations commander with the sheriff's office, said of the recommendations offered.
Perry is the son of a Clark County sheriff’s deputy.
Perry was located in downtown Christiansburg, Champaign County, by a member of the Region 3 Rescue Strike Team and a bystander. The boy's family and medics will determine whether to send him to a hospital.
"We don't know the path that he took," said Michael Guadagno, strike team coordinator. He estimates the boy was missing more than 14 hours and covered roughly 5 miles from his home in Pike Twp.
>>VIDEO: Boy 'very outdoorsy’
"He could have taken many paths back and forth. We assume he was wearing what he left the house in."
Well more than 100 personnel from fire/EMS, law enforcement, seven to 14 search teams with multiple members as well as multiple K-9 teams from four counties joined in the search, Guadagno said.
Maj. Clark said drones from the Ohio Bureau of Investigation and the Champaign County Sheriff's Office, as well as aircraft from the Ohio Highway Patrol and a private citizen pilot were part of the search effort as well.
"It was a long, painstaking search and we're just really happy it ended successfully," Maj. Clark said. "It's a huge relief."
UPDATE @ 8:38 p.m.: Searchers have located Perry Beller.
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
UPDATE @ 8:10 p.m.: We're told the Perry Beller case has been elevated to an alert because of the length of time he has been missing, the fact that he has presumably been without food and water and because he is believed to be wearing little to no clothing.
UPDATE @ 7:35 p.m.: The search for Perry Beller has been elevated to an endangered missing child alert, according to the Clark County Sheriff's Office.
The alert describing the 11-year-old was released minutes ago. He is 4-foot-2 inches tall, about 70 pounds and was possibly last seen in the village of Christiansburg in Champaign County.
We're working to determine what led the sheriff's office to elevate this incident.
UPDATE @ 5:45 p.m.: More than 40 firefighters, EMTs, police, deputies and at least two K-9 units have launched the search for 11-year-old Perry Beller.
The group is leaving from the Pike Twp. Fire Department, where officials briefed reporters on the boy described as very intelligent and knowledgeable about the outdoors.
Jacob King, Bethel Twp. fire chief, said Perry “is a very avid, strong young man. He is very outdoorsy.
"He does not mind running through fields, climbing trees, running in springs. He's very intelligent on the foods of the land.
"He knows what berries, what type of fruits are grown in the area that he can eat…he is very outdoorsy and can move and navigate through this area very well. "
The search group intends to cover an area that includes Pike and Harmony townships, along the Clark/Miami county line.
If you see him, you are asked to call the Clark County Sheriff’s Office at 937-328-2561.
UPDATE @ 4:36 p.m.: The public is being asked to check their properties -- trees, sheds, barns and the like -- for Perry Beller, described as a very strong boy who is "very outdoorsy" and likes to travel shoeless.
The boy is the son of a Clark County sheriff’s deputy.
He has some disabilities and officials believe those disabilities are driving him to run. One official calls it a “defiance disability.”
(NEW) Perry is believed to have oppositional defiant disorder, a mental impairment that affects children, generally in adolescence. While it is normal for a child to go through some level of disobedience in their youth, ODD goes beyond normal disobedience and often rise to a level that requires professional help, according to an article posted to disabilitysecrets.com.
Children with ODD do not see their behavior as defiant. They feel as though others are putting unreasonable demands on them when asked to behave properly.
Some children are diagnosed with ODD because they are explosive and angry, but they are just easily frustrated and inflexible; these children may not be disobeying authority on purpose.
Officials said the boy has built a club house. He likes to be outside. He doesn’t mind being out in the fields or wooded areas.
This is not the first time he has left home, one official said. Perry ran away to North Hampton on Memorial Day, ending up at a relative’s home. That’s about five miles from his home in Pike Twp.
The last reported sighting was at 10 am. in Christiansburg in Champaign County.
People living in the areas of North Hampton, New Carlisle and Christiansburg are urged to be on the lookout for the boy.
Officials are ruling out any abduction or family member taking him.
If you see him, you are asked to call the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, 937-328-2561.
INITIAL REPORT
Clark County law enforcement officials will hold a news conference this afternoon to notify the community about 11-year-old Perry Beller, who is said to be missing.
Officials told this news outlet Beller has been missing since this morning. Additional details were not available.
We have a crew on the way to the news conference and will update this page as we learn more.
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