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Beaver Township officials to recognize toddler’s rescuers
NORTH LIMA
Although flurries of snow dust the ground, one Fairfield township family vividly remembers the day their son went missing for two hours in the July heat.
Isaac Unkefer, 2, wandered away from his aunt in Beaver Township on July 21. He was found after a two-hour search by law enforcement officials in a helicopter. The Beaver township trustees will recognize all departments, inside and outside of the township, that helped bring Isaac home at their Dec. 14 meeting.
Isaac and his sister, Aubrey, 4, were with their aunt, 18-year-old Jennifer Unkefer at her boyfriend’s house, near the intersection of Western Reserve and New Buffalo roads.
“She had taken them to splash around in the creek behind the house. She bent down to tie Aubrey’s shoe and then Isaac was gone. It could have happened to anyone,” said Isaac’s mom Cheri.
After a half hour of searching, Jennifer called police, her sister and Cheri’s husband, Aaron.
“The first thing is we hurry to get there and assess what’s going on and whether we think there’s a crime or if the kid just wandered way in any circumstance,” said Police Chief Carl Frost.
While officers responded, the township dispatch called for the Stat Medevac helicopter and other agencies,
When Cheri and Aaron arrived, a full force already was out searching for Isaac.
“I was amazed at the amount of people there, because we were only 10 minutes away and when we arrived, so many other people were there,” Aaron said.
“When I saw the Stat Medevac, I started panicking, because I immediately thought he was hurt,” Cheri added.
With police dogs on the scene and multiple law enforcement, officers told Cheri and Aaron to stay out of the woods.
“We were very frustrated. We just had to stand back and wait, and it was so hard,” Cheri said.
The Stat Medevac pilot, Jim Derda, told police he was running low on fuel and was heading back to the airport when the flight nurse, Eric Cline, spotted Isaac along a tree line crying hysterically — and a coyote nearby stalking him, according to police reports.
“As soon as they said he was found, we felt relief,” Aaron said.
Isaac was reunited with his family, “perfectly fine and not a scratch on him,” Cheri said.
Later she read the police report that stated Isaac was found crying hysterically, which was a low point for her.
“It broke my heart that he was crying,” she said. “I had hoped he was wandering and having a good time, not being scared.”
The night before this happened, Isaac had wandered away from Aaron when he was working in the yard. The then one-and-a-half-year-old walked across the street to his grandparents’ house. Cheri and Aaron said they knew they had to keep a closer eye on Isaac, but didn’t even have time to tell Jennifer.
Cheri said the whole event scared Isaac a bit and his wandering habits have since ceased.
“Things could have gone wrong. This is one blessed little guy,” she said. “I don’t think there are words to express our thanks.”
The township trustees will show their appreciation at their next meeting when they distribute plaques to the township dispatch, police and fire departments, Stat Medevac, the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office and the city of Canfield.
“They say ‘I was just doing my job,’ and yes, you were doing it, but you made sure it was enough and that doesn’t always happen. Nobody questioned it or had to go to a superior and ask ‘Should I be doing this,’” said Trustee Ted Lyda.
Despite the awards, the police chief maintained that it was all in a day’s work.
“I’m glad we did a good job. Being honored by anyone is immaterial,” Frost said.