A short trip to wish a loved one good-night turned into a night in the woods for a 7-year-old Mason County girl who went missing Tuesday and was found safe Wednesday morning.
Deliah Mae Clark, of Southside, walked out of the woods near her Jeffers Ridge Road home early Wednesday after spending the night in the woods with her two dogs, said Mason Sheriff Greg Powers.
Mason sheriff's deputies and West Virginia State Police troopers were talking to news reporters near Deliah's home when she came walking up the road wearing the same short-sleeved shirt, pants and tennis shoes in which she'd last been seen.
Deliah was taken to an area hospital to be examined and later spoke with police. She was not injured and investigators found no signs of abuse or foul play, Powers said.
"Her story to us was that one of her dogs ran off and that she chased off after it," Powers said. "She told us she spent the night in the woods."
Deliah told deputies she'd walked with her two dogs across Jeffers Ridge Road to her great-grandfather's house that evening to kiss him and tell him good-night, the sheriff said. The great-grandfather lives across the road from the home Deliah shares with her mother, stepfather and grandparents.
Powers described the rural Jeffers Ridge Road community as "tight knit" and said a number of people who live in the area are related.
Her family grew worried when Deliah hadn't returned home by 7:45 p.m. and began searching the area for her. The family called the sheriff's department to report the girl missing at about 9 p.m., Powers said.
Deputies searched the area with assistance from the State Police and Point Pleasant police and firefighters and many volunteers. Powers said the Mason sheriff's department was fortunate to have such a good rapport with the other agencies in the area.
"There was quite an outpouring of people there to help," Powers said.
Point Pleasant police, Barboursville police and the State Police provided dogs to help track the child. Troopers used a helicopter with equipment to track heat sources on the ground to look for the girl but had no luck, the sheriff said. The Jackson County Sheriff's Department was rounding up divers Tuesday night to search a farm pond in the area, he said.
No Amber Alert was issued. The Mason County Emergency Management Agency posted on Facebook that the incident did not meet the requirements for such an advisory.
"The Amber Alert requirements are very specific for abduction and at this time they have not issued one," the agency wrote. "That comes from above our heads at the county level."
"There's a lot of people who live out in that area who showed up on four-wheelers and on foot, ready to go out and look," Powers said. "I had countless messages from people on Facebook saying things like, 'My children went to school with her, if you need anything or need us to help look.'"
Powers did not know Wednesday where in the woods the child and her dogs spent the night. She was safe with her dogs, he said. He said it's possible those searching for the child simply missed her.
"It happens unfortunately, searching in the woods in the pitch dark," he said. "There's been cases when rescuers were within 5 or 10 feet of the person and they just got scared and hunkered down."
Powers said he is thankful for the girl's safe return and also for the help of all of those who aided in the search.
Staff writer Erin Beck contributed to this report.
Reach Ashley B. Craig at ashley.craig@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1244 or follow @ashleybcraig on Twitter.