Relief as lost by, 5, is found
A BOY of five was found safe and well last night after sparking a major search when he disappeared from his grandparents’ garden.
Rhys Moorhead, who vanished while playing on his bike, was found 10 hours later riding in a street three miles away.
His family were last night celebrating after an anxious all-day wait.
When the news came through, his 27-year-old council worker father Michael Cox screamed with delight: “They’ve found him.”
The blond youngster went missing at 9.30am in the Marton area of Middlesbrough.
His mother Melanie, 27, an air hostess, who was at the house with his three-year-old brother Harvey, said she turned her back for a few minutes to speak to a neighbour.
When she looked again Rhys was gone.
The boy’s great uncle Brian Moorhead said: “It was as if he had vanished into thin air.”
Growing fears sparked the huge hunt with a police helicopter joining in as officers on foot made house-to‑house inquiries.
There were concerns Rhys, who has gone missing before, may have been abducted as the four-bed house backs on to a public footpath.
The boy’s grandfather Tony Moorhead said last night the whole family were “over the moon”.