Joe Clyde Daniels: Search For Missing 5-Year-Old Enters Day 3

DICKSON, TN -- The search for missing Dickson 5-year-old Joe Clyde Daniels is entering its third day after law enforcement combed the area around his house through the night.

Dickson County Sheriff Jeff Bledsoe said there was a credible sighting of the boy Wednesday morning near his home. Bledsoe also said a child-size footprint was found near a creek late Thursday night and another possible footprint was found Friday.

Officials believe Daniels, who is autistic and non-verbal, found a key hidden by his parents and sneaked out of the house in the early morning hours of Tuesday. His parents reported him missing after they couldn't find him when they went to wake him for school.

Joe Clyde Daniels has blond hair and blue eyes and is 4 feet tall, weighing approximately 65 pounds. He was last seen wearing skeleton pajamas and was not wearing shoes. He did not take any blankets or stuffed animals with him.

His parents say he has snuck out before, but is usually found fairly quickly. On Thursday, Bledsoe expanded the search radius beyond one-mile from the family's home in rural Tennessee City.

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More than 400 people showed up to help search for the boy Thursday and the Dickson County Sheriff is once again asking for volunteers Friday. Those wishing to assist in the search should go to Friendship Baptist Church at 4295 Highway 70 at 9 a.m.

Volunteers should dress appropriately for the weather and for rough terrain and should sign in with deputies on the scene. Groups of 10 volunteers and two law enforcement officers will search in grids.

Bledsoe is also asking hunters with trail cameras in the area to review their footage for any sign of the boy.

"I'm not going to give up hope. There's faith from other cases across the country where kids went missing and we consider them endangered due to the elements and the weather that there's somewhere he may be laying and warm and just waiting on somebody to find him," Bledsoe said.

Photo via TBI