CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – UPDATE: The boy’s mother, 40-year-old Donna Huffman, has been charged with child abuse and neglect, according to an arrest warrant.
Joseph’s caseworker at Youth Villages contacted police to let them know the boy was missing after Huffman contacted him. He said Huffman was not at home when he arrived to help search for the child. She had allegedly gone to Walmart to purchase night vision goggles.
When she returned, she had several Walmart bags with her, but said she could not find the goggles.
Huffman told police Joseph also went missing on June 9 but police were not called because he was found in a nearby ravine. Joseph also ran away on April 20, according to the warrant.
Huffman was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on a $25,000 bond.
ORIGINAL STORY:
On June 15 at 9:12 a.m., we are thankful that we were able to find 12-year-old Joseph William Huffman alive and safe after being gone from his residence since 5:30 p.m. June 14.
Many Clarksville area and surrounding area Law Enforcement agencies and Emergency Response Agencies assisted each other in finding Joseph. The Clarksville Police Department would like to thank all the agencies involved. But, we would like to give a special thanks to the Henry County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Deputy Wayne Fuqua and his K-9 partner Cisco.
Cisco, a Bloodhound, was able to get a scent from an item belonging to Joseph and found him from his starting point at the 700 block of Cloud Dr. to his ending location at the 800 block of Gholson Rd.
Photos courtesy of CPD
According to MapQuest directions by road, the distance between the two locations is almost two miles, but the child was tracked in the wooded area between the two locations that consisted of challenging terrain and a creek through which they had to trek.
Alongside Deputy Fuqua and Cisco as guides in the area was CPD’s Detective Rodney Lifsey and the Montgomery Sheriff’s Deputy Eric Trout. Organizing the search from the time the CPD was notified until the child was found was Lt. Liane Wilson—her shift started at 4:00 p.m. and she stayed until 9:12 a.m. Several CPD Officers from the night shift stayed overtime as well. Captain Scott Thornton came in to assist and relieve Lt. Wilson in the early morning hours.
“The teamwork exhibited today from the different agencies that participated in the search was exemplary. I especially would like to thank Sheriff Monte Belew from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office for allowing his K-9 Deputy Fuqua and Cisco to participate in the search. Cisco found the child within 30 minutes of his deployment in the search. The small timeframe in finding the child lessened the total amount of time he and the search crew were exposed to the heat and humidity,” said Captain Thornton.
There is no further information at this time. If anyone has any further information related to this incident, please call the Clarksville Police Department at 931-648-0656.
