The mother of a missing toddler in Kentucky said the boy was with his father before disappearing.
Kenneth Howard, who is nearly 2 years old, went missing on May 11 from his home in Salyersville.
Father Elden Howard said on Tuesday that family members think Kenneth just walked out of the house.
“Yeah, it’s just like he disappeared. No sign, no nothing. That’s the reason I’m starting to think, if we can’t find him, somebody’s picked him up,” Howard said, adding that he was offering a $5,000 reward.
UPDATE: The father of Kenneth Howard tells @LEX18News he’s offering a $5,000 reward for the safe return of his missing son. He provided us with these new pictures so people have a more recent look at the 22-month-old. KSP says this is still a missing persons case. pic.twitter.com/Um1XmD7sCX
— Conor McCue (@Conor_WLEX) May 14, 2019
#KennethHoward is still #missing. The toddler was last seen wearing a gray #Avengers T-shirt, red jogging pants and sandals. Temps are expected to drop to the mid-40’s overnight. https://t.co/zOmaC4txwW @EllenKilloran @LeighEgan @JoshMankiewicz @HillaryWKYT @LEX18News pic.twitter.com/CzDckZXVw0
— Missing Pieces Network (@Network4Missing) May 13, 2019
Samantha Moore, Kenneth’s mother, said that the toddler was with Howard just before he vanished.
“He was outside with his dad and we see he just went around the back of the house, and when he went around after, he was just gone,” Moore told WTVQ. “It’s like he just disappeared. Like he’s just gone. I just feel like I’m in a daze. Like it’s just a nightmare.”
Robert Prater, a family friend and the Magoffin County Emergency Management Director, said that from what he knew the family was on the front porch when the child vanished.
“I think the dad may have been on the front porch talking with maybe one of his brothers. I think the child slipped out the back door,” Prater told WYMT.
Prater said the situation was emotional. “Everyone is trying to be optimistic. But you know, they’re hoping for the best,” he said. “We’re holding onto hope. You can’t give up.”
The search for 22-month-old Kenneth Howard is still ongoing here in Magoffin Co. He was last seen outside his home on Kenneth Combs Rd., which is right before the Floyd Co. line. @ABC36News pic.twitter.com/sCmabXSf1u
— Christy Bollinger ABC 36 (@ChristyB_WTVQ) May 13, 2019
Several search crews are out here today including Wolfe County Search & Rescue. Their team does a lot of work on rough, hilly terrain in the Red River Gorge pic.twitter.com/vEDOuFCbX7
— Hillary Thornton (@HillaryWKYT) May 14, 2019
While the search for Kenneth was suspended on Tuesday, it later resumed. Moore urged people to keep looking.
“Don’t give up. He is there somewhere. Somebody knows something, there’s a sign, there’s something. And I’m so grateful from the bottom of my heart for everything everybody’s done,” she told WTVQ.
Search crews spent hours on Tuesday searching the wooded area around the family’s house while some crews searched about one mile from the house, reported WKYT. The search was suspended on Tuesday morning due to weather but later resumed.
“I can’t even begin to fathom what the family is going through.”
This is the scene in Salyersville right now. People are gathering to pray for Kennth and his family @LEX18News pic.twitter.com/p8EODoBaEu
— Conor McCue (@Conor_WLEX) May 14, 2019
A second vigil is now under way at Ramey Memorial Park in Salyersville. Big crowd here. pic.twitter.com/OblVDc7jzA
— Garrett Wymer (@GarrettWKYT) May 14, 2019
By Tuesday evening, it was called off again and it was not clear when it would resume again.
Vigils were held in the community on Tuesday night as people prayed for the boy’s safe return.
Anyone with information was asked to call the Magoffin County Sheriff’s Department at 606-349-2914.
