Mid-Missouri investigators continue search for endangered child

Mid-Missouri law enforcement officers continued to search for an endangered child Monday afternoon. According to the Moniteau County Sheriff’s Office, deputies started searching for Julie Darnell and 4-year-old Grayson Darnell at around 9 a.m. after deputies located their vehicle on Highway C, east of Fahrni Road in the Russellville area.

Deputies said a passerby told investigators they saw a woman and a child walking from a field into some woods near where the vehicle was discovered.

The Cole County Sheriff’s Office, the Eldon Police Department, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol also helped search but were unable to find the two.

Deputies believe both are still in the area just west of Highway C.

The ABC affiliate in Kansas City, KMBC, reports the Benton County Sheriff’s Office issued the endangered person alert for Grayson on Sunday.

Deputies described Grayson as:

Around 60 pounds Brown hair/eyes Surgical scar on his lip

He was last seen around 3 a.m. Sunday in the Warsaw, Missouri area with his noncustodial parent, Julie Darnell.

Investigators said she is bipolar with drug-induced schizophrenia.

Anyone with information about the two is asked to call local 911 or local law enforcement.