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14-year-old North Carolina boy found alive after missing for more than two days
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On January 17, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office announced that Gideon Ferguson had been found safe and was being evaluated by medical personnel
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Ferguson was reported missing on January 14 from his home in Cleveland, North Carolina
A 14-year-old North Carolina boy has been found alive more than two days after he went missing, but authorities say the investigation into his disappearance is not over.
On Saturday, January 17, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office announced that Gideon Ferguson had been found safe and was being evaluated by medical personnel following a “round-the-clock” search involving hundreds of law enforcement officers, search and rescue personnel, and the FBI.
According to the FBI, Ferguson disappeared from her home in Cleveland, North Carolina, on Wednesday, January 14.
The agency said his grandmother dropped him off at home after school around 3:30 p.m. local time, and his mother reported him missing about an hour later.
After days of searching, the teen was found just a mile and a half from his home, officials said in a news release on Saturday, Jan. 17.
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While the investigation is ongoing, officials said the teen appeared to have left the home alone, but it was unclear if anyone else was involved in the incident.
“During the course of our investigation, we [found] “There were signs in the home that there was not forced entry but that a person had left a lot of stuff, like cellphones and other technology, that you would think people would take with them when they left,” Sheriff Darren Campbell said at a news conference.
“Throughout the course of the investigation, we did find that Gideon did intentionally leave his phone there,” Campbell added, noting that Ferguson appeared to be trying to evade detection by authorities by hiding in nearby woods that were out of law enforcement’s search radius.
The sheriff said he re-entered the search area early Saturday.
Campbell also said the teen was still recovering after being outside for more than two days due to wind chill and temperatures dropping to around 15 degrees.
Campbell said the 14-year-old seemed to “just want to be left alone” Wednesday afternoon, but officials are still investigating why he was away from home for so long.
“He just didn’t want to be found,” the sergeant said. “There were some issues that happened earlier in the day… that didn’t include family. That was another issue and I think to his way of thinking, he just wanted to be left alone at the time.”
In a statement shared on Facebook, the Sheriff’s Office said the investigation was continuing, and Campbell said Saturday that anyone with information about Ferguson’s whereabouts during the two days he was missing should contact authorities.
“Our investigation does not end with his safe recovery. We will continue to help find answers to what happened to this child since he was found missing on January 14, 2026,” the Sheriff’s Office concluded in a statement. “Right now, the most important thing is that he is safe.”
Read the original article on People
