A 9-year-old Tennessee boy has been found safely after spending two days lost in the woods.

Jordan Gorman was reported missing by his parents on Sunday. He had last been seen at his home in Ashville City — just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. His parents stated Jordan had run off after an argument at the house, and that he was last spotted at the end of the driveway by his sister, Jocelyn.

A statewide AMBER Alert was issued, and authorities from five different states began search efforts to find the missing boy. In the rural area Jordan lives, temperatures had dipped into the 30s following his disappearance, prompting authorities to encourage people to search anywhere a child may take cover from the cold — advice that proved to be key in their recovery efforts. 

According to the National Weather Service, temperatures got as low as 37 degrees, leading Jordan to seek warmth. As search members scoured the heavily wooded area near his home, they nearly missed the boy until they came upon a blue tarp, which he had hung from a tree for shelter.

Jordan was eventually recovered by a search crew from Kentucky called the Christian County Rescue Team. He was found approximately three-quarters of a mile away from his home, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. When one of the crew members first spotted the blue tarp, he says his heart dropped.

“As I got close to the tarp and noticed there was a mass in it, naturally the worst was going through my head initially until the tarp moved,” said Matthew Reese. “It was just the biggest holy crap, I got him.”

Jordan was found in a creek bed under the tarp. The boy wasn’t wearing a jacket or shoes, but aside from being cold from the frigid temperatures, appeared to be healthy.

Here’s a picture of the creekbed where Jordan Gorman was found, approximately 3/4 mile, as the crow flies, from his home.Jordan said he found that blue tarp and built himself the shelter where rescuers found him this afternoon.#TNAMBERAlert pic.twitter.com/xKhjXMKGpS

— Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (@TBInvestigation) November 17, 2020

Reese says he and the other two rescue team members of the Christian Country Rescue Teams are fathers themselves. As such, they sought out to find Jordan as if they were searching for their own child.

“That’s what makes you drive to get out there and find him,” said Logan Fryar, a search team member.

Jordan was being medically evaluated after spending two nights in the woods at frigid temperatures, but appeared to be doing well. We are in awe of this boy’s resourcefulness! What safety tips would you offer to someone in that scary situation?