WILLIAMS, Arizona — A teenage boy who went missing on Jan. 19 spent the night under a tree, according to the Williams Police Department (WPD).

On January 19, at about 6:00 pm, a family came to WPD to report that their 13-year-old son, Griffin Edens, who has special needs, had left home and had not returned. The family presumed the boy had been missing since 2 p.m., and the family did not know his whereabouts.

“When we received the report, we estimated that Griffin had been missing for about four to five hours,” said Williams Police Chief Tad Weigal. “Furthermore, when he left, the sun was shining and the weather was relatively nice. This he deteriorated rapidly in five hours, it started snowing and didn’t stop overnight.”

The initial search was conducted by the Williams Police Department and the Williams Volunteer Fire Department. A search and rescue team from the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and Coconino County lawmakers were called in while the search was underway. A search grid and pattern have been created. Many locals came out and helped organize the search to find the missing child.

The snow fell all night and reached about 12 inches.

“I knew he had a jacket on, but it was pretty wet snow between his shoes and his pants. I was worried the temperature and the wetness would cause him problems.” Weigal said.

The crew set up an incident command system at the Howard Johnson Hotel near Griffin’s residence. Through the hotel’s surveillance system, officers were able to identify Griffin and his direction of travel. He is lightly dressed and carries a rucksack and a frying pan. He appeared to be heading north towards Loves his travel stop.

Around 9:00 a.m., employees at the Canyon Gateway RV Park contacted the Williams Police Department to report that they had found a missing juvenile wandering the RV Park.

Williams police responded and confirmed that the child was Griffin.

“We were very happy,” Weigal said. “We were starting to get very worried because the weather wasn’t good for his health, so alternatives were starting to worry me.”

Griffin was evaluated by medical personnel and appeared to be in good health.

Wygal says the griffin curled up under a tree in the middle of the night.

“I believed him,” Weigal said. “He had a long night.”

The Williams Police Department would like to thank the volunteers of the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, Coconino County Search and Rescue Corps, Flagstaff Police Department, Williams Fire Department, High Country Fire and Rescue Corps, and many local community members who assisted in the search for Griffin. Thank you.

The department thanked Howard Johnson’s Motel for using its facilities during the incident. We also thank Sandovals Mobil and Shell for helping us find Griffin.