Missing 3-year-old found mile from home

Hundreds of volunteer searchers cheered when they learned 3-year-old Colby Paasch of rural Lincoln County had been found in good condition seven hours after he was reported missing Wednesday afternoon.
“He (Colby) is doing really well,” said Lt. Andy Binder of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department. “He is real happy to see his parents. He was cold and a little dehydrated but in very good condition.”
Colby was reported missing a little after 1 p.m. and was found at 8:15 p.m. a mile west of his  home, Binder said.
“His parents went with the ambulance to pick him up. He was sent to an local hospital” to be examined, but Binder did not expect him to need to remain in the hospital.
The volunteers were very excited to learn Colby had been found, Binder said. “As soon as the sheriff called me at the media staging area, they screamed and cheered and celebrated.
“It humbled everybody, then there it was a sigh of relief for everybody involved,” Binder added. “I couldn’t be in a better place, to be able to tell them he had been located.”
When Colby was reported missing, he had been playing in his back yard with Daisy, the family’s chocolate lab. The dog was with Colby the entire time and is fine, Binder said.
The family lives on Fawn Ridge Drive, by Quivre River State Park.
Colby’s clothes were described to the volunteer searchers. He was wearing a yellow jacket and blue pants with a reflective stripe down the outside of the sleeve and the pants.
“He was found along a logging road by a search and rescue party,” Binder explained. “He was by Camp Deericote, right in the heart of Cuivre River Park.”
Binder was very pleased with the number of volunteers who were eager to help with the search. “We had about 250 volunteers. They were never asked to come, but they came by the truckloads. It was unbelievable support.”
People of all ages volunteered, he said. “Parents were bringing teen-aged kids and were signing in. It was an incredible experience.”