DANVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — A little more than a week ago, a 5-year-old girl with special needs in Boyle County went missing in a wooded area behind her home. Thanks to the efforts of first responders and volunteers, she was found a few hours later. Now, the community is still coming together to support her and work to keep her safe.
Boyle County resident Anne Clay and her teenage son were on their way home last Monday night when they saw a woman in the road looking for her 5-year-old daughter, Emma Dunaway. Clay says she searched more than a mile out.
She says, "I was just a passerby that saw someone who really needed some help, and to see the hundreds of four-wheelers, and side-by-sides, and volunteers that were searching in groups, I even saw bloodhounds — the amount of effort that went in from this community was unreal."
First responders from across the county and volunteers were there to help find her. The Boyle County Sheriff's Office shared on social media that Dunaway, who is nonverbal autistic, went missing from Lebanon Road. She was found a few hours later.
Clay says, "It felt really good to know she was in a good place. So, I decided that maybe we can find some things for her in her backyard that would help keep her in her backyard."
The community is continuing to come together to show its support for Dunaway by raising money for a sensory play area that can be installed right in her own backyard.
Clay says, "It started as a small GoFundMe page. We are hoping to fence in her backyard and get her some sensory equipment that is specific for a nonverbal autistic child that will keep her attention at home instead of out there in the woods."
So far, the page has raised more than $1,300. As a mother herself, Clay says this has been an emotional experience. After living in this area for about two decades, she says she knew this was a tight community but didn't realize how much love and support that could be shown in someone's greatest time of need.
She says, "It does take a village and I think that a lot of people in this community are examples of how even larger communities can come together when someone needs help. It's just... It's the right thing to do to go and help somebody."
Emma’s GoFundMe page can be found here.
