Missing 10-Year-Old Girl Found Safe in Her Pajamas After Sleepwalking Into the Woods

Mar. 15, 2025

Bienville Parish Deputy Sheriff Jeremy Gros with 10-year-old Peyton Saintignan.Photo:Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

A 10-year-old girl was found curled up on the ground in the woods, 1.5 miles away from her home, after going missing for more than 24 hours.

On Sunday, Sept. 15, Peyton Saintignan of Louisiana was reported missing after having last been seen the night before while preparing to go to bed, according to aFacebookpost from the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office.

When she went missing, she was reported to have been wearing blueFrozenpajamas and no shoes, per thesheriff’s office. At the time, Parker warned volunteers of searching the wooded area for the young girl, saying that it may affect the “thermal imaging on the helicopter” that they were using in their rescue to “pick up any indication of body heat.”

Bienville Parish Deputy Sheriff Jeremy Gros and Peyton Saintignan.Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

PEOPLE reached out to the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office for more information but did not hear immediately hear back.

Law enforcement agencies and “hundreds of volunteers” aided in the search, including surrounding police and fire departments, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, state police and the Webster Parish School Board.

Parker praised the drone team for their work, saying, “We had the DeSoto Parish helicopter in the air and couldn’t put drones up at the time, but when it was possible, Josh Klober, Matt Ramos and Micah Carter brought their equipment and successfully located the young girl.”

The sheriff added: “I can’t tell you how thrilled we all are to have a happy ending to this. A lot of prayers were answered today.”

Parker also offered some words of gratitude to the large amount of people who offered their help during the search, calling it “truly a cooperative effort.”

Drone equipment used to locate Peyton Saintignan.Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

In an interview withGood Morning Americathat was aired on Monday, Sept. 23, Parker explained that Saintignan had sleepwalked into the woods near her home. The family said that she had sleepwalked before — but never to such an extreme.

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“We saw the purple and white pajamas that she had been wearing. She was laying there. She wasn’t moving and everybody was just kind of holding their breath,” he said.

The girl did not suffer any serious injuries.

“Other than some mosquito bites, she was perfect,” Parker said. ”It’s truly a miracle that she was unharmed.”

While speaking with theLouisiana Radio Network, the officer stated that earlier in the search a person had found a photo of the girl on their trail cam, which revealed her to be “without any water, food, backpack, anything like that.”

The latest report stated that Saintignan is “safe and back at home.”

source: people.com