Rough terrain complicating search for 2-year-old Noah

PINSON, Tenn. — As the search for 2-year-old Noah Chamberlin moves into it’s seventh day, officials said the freezing temperatures the area has seen over the past several days is only creating more problems for search teams.

That includes looking through numerous sinkholes in the rough terrain.

Charles Wooley lives less than two miles from where rescue teams are searching for Noah and said the rough terrain can pose many problems.

“Absolutely it’s dangerous, especially at night,” Wooley said. “A searcher could very well step off in one of them.”

One of the searchers’ biggest concerns are sink holes in the middle of a field that could grow to be several feet wide and deep.

That’s just enough to trap little Noah, which makes searching much more difficult.

“Because a small child, if they was walking where there are several sink holes, and some of them are big enough to swallow a grown man,” Wooley said.

Meanwhile officials said they still have no lead as to where little Noah may be.

“We’re 0 for 6 now into the seventh day,” said Tom Mapes, public information officer for the Madison County Sheriff’s Department. “We’re 0 for 6 as far as being able to come and tell everybody we’ve got some important news.”

And after more than 50 straight hours of below-freezing temperatures, conditions will only become more difficult for search crews.

Officials said they’re staying the course in their search and rescue mission.

“There’s just nothing concrete now to put out there to say, ‘hey, here’s this to hope on,'” Mapes said. “We’re just going on faith. Sheriff Weaver says until we get out of search and rescue and go away from faith we’ll stay on the course.”

Officials said they’ve also had a tent set up near the search site to allow teams to warm up easily and allow them a place to rest.