BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — A retired U.S. Marine who says he also spent decades with the Hernando County parks department is being heralded as the man who found a missing Brooksville toddler.
Joshua "JJ" Rowland, 2, had been missing for nearly 24 hours when Roy Link found him Friday morning. A massive search for the toddler was undertaken, with hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement officers combing the rural area.
Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said Rowland was found south of Parrott Middle School and east of Cobb Road.
Link recounted the moments leading up to when he found Rowland. He said he crossed a field and came upon some woods, listening intently during his search. It was the sound of "whimpering" that caught his ear.
"I listened good and I heard like a whimpering kind of noise and at that point, I was like, there's no kids here, it's gotta be JJ," Link said. "And sure enough, I went in the woods, [about] 100 feet from where I was at.
"I think he was in some stickers, but he was happy to see me. He put his arms, his hands up...he was real happy and he wanted mom. He started hollering for mom."
Link told reporters he served in the U.S. Marine Corps and worked more than 32 years with the Hernando County parks department as a supervisor.
The toddler appears to be doing fine, the sheriff said, but he is still being taken to the hospital by his parents out of an abundance of caution.
"I got to admit, I'm a little emotional because I thought, surely, we were going to have bad news," Nienhuis said. "It is a good day in Hernando County. Just a very good day."