Phenix Wilkersonâs mother âin shockâ as search continues for missing Alabama 4-year-old
It’s been two days since the mother of a 4-year-old in southeast Alabama last saw her son, before he disappeared from a family camper.
Shyanne Ray, mother of Phenix Wilkerson, said she’s been “distraught” since she realized Phenix Wilkerson was missing from their camper after she walked over to her mother’s home in Clayton on Friday, she told WTVY.
“I looked everywhere around the house for him and did not see him,” Ray said. “I am in shock right now because I can’t feel anything.”
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s State Bureau of Investigation and aviation units are helping the Barbour County Sheriff’s Office with the search for Wilkerson, ALEA spokesperson Jeremy Burkett said in an email to AL.com Sunday morning.
Barbour County Sheriff Tyrone Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He told WTVM that authorities have helicopters, divers and on the-ground searchers looking for Wilkerson. Local volunteers are now working alongside the authorities, as well.
Wilkerson was last seen around 12:30 p.m. on Friday, per an Alabama Law Enforcement Agency alert.
He was last seen wearing a blue tie-dye shirt and gray sweatpants and Batman socks, but no shoes, when he disappeared. He’s 3-feet 5-inches tall, and has red or auburn hair and hazel eyes.
“I just worry about him being out there all by himself,” Ray said, adding that Wilkerson is autistic and nonverbal but he responds to his name. It is cold and it rained… I am just worried.”
Anyone with information on Phenix’s whereabouts is asked to call the Barbour County Sheriff’s Office at 334-775-3434 or 911.