Chapter 3 - The Footprints by the CreekThe search intensified as dawn broke over Bellwood County.
Over fifty volunteers, bloodhounds, and thermal-imaging drones swept through the three-mile stretch of dense forest between the creek and the Mercer home.
At seven AM, a search dog let out a sharp, continuous bark near an abandoned hunterâs cabin hidden deep inside the timber line.
Detective Vance and Officer Natalie Perez rushed to the cabin door, kicking it open.
Inside, lying on a bed of dry pine needles, was Andrew Mercer.
He was pale, hypothermic, his left leg fractured, his hands covered in deep cuts and dried mud. But clamped firmly in his right fist, protected inside a thick plastic ziplock bag against his chest, was the bottle of medicine for his daughter.
âAshley...â Andrew rasped, his lips cracked and blue, his eyes barely able to focus on the officers. âI... I have to get home... I promised her thirty minutes...â
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âSheâs safe, Andrew!â Officer Perez cried, tears springing to her eyes as she knelt beside him, checking his weak pulse. âAshley is safe! She called 911! Sheâs at the hospital right now!â
Andrew let out a ragged, trembling sigh, his grip on the medicine bottle finally relaxing as paramedics rushed inside with a stretcher.
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