Alaska State Troopers say a 4-year-old boy went missing Monday night in the western village of Kotlik.
The Kotlik Police Department notified troopers in the nearby village of Emmonak shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday that they'd been looking for the child, according to a Wednesday trooper dispatch.
Police and residents of Kotlik, population 644, reportedly had been searching for the child since Monday after his parents reported him missing.
"The child had been out playing with a friend and failed to return home on (Monday evening)," the dispatch says.
Troopers say a ground search was conducted, as well as a search on the banks of a nearby river and slough. Troopers from four separate posts flew to Kotlik on Tuesday to help with search efforts.
Three search-and-rescue dog teams were mobilized from Anchorage. The area has also been "searched extensively" with trooper aircraft over the past two days.
The search for the boy is continuing with help from the troopers, the village's police department, search-and-rescue groups and locals.
Reach Jerzy Shedlock at jerzy@alaskadispatch.com.
By JERZY SHEDLOCK
jerzy@alaskadispatch.com