Police search for 2 missing boys

FELICITY, Ohio - The search continues for two young boys from Brown County who left their babysitter to go check out a nearby creek.

Police say they were last seen leaving the home in the 200 block of Dunbar Road near Felicity around 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

Heavy rain caused the creek along the side of the road to rise several feet and police say the two boys asked their babysitter if they could go look at the water. They haven't been seen since.

"Apparently they were at a babysitter's,” said Chief Deputy John Schadle, of the Brown County Sheriff’s Office. “And they wanted to go out and watch the water roll down creek. Babysitter said, ‘Yeah, watch it.’ Well, when she checks them a little bit later, they're no where to be found."

The boys are described as an 8-year-old wearing tan pants and an 11-year-old with brown hair, wearing dark-colored pants. No further details on their description have been released.

9 News was told the mother of the two children has been notified.

When the search on the ground was turning out to be unsuccessful, helicopters from the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to assist with the search Wednesday evening.

"They've got their helicopter up with a flier unit which is like a infrared device, will show body heat," said Chief Schadle.

At this point police know very little about what happened surrounding the two boy's disappearance.

"With fire trucks, life squads, police cars – usually kids see, that they gravitate towards that – and we’re not seeing them sticking their heads up anywhere,” said Schadle. “We're concentrating right now on the water."

Friends say the older brother plays on a local baseball team. His teammates, parents and coaches all joined the search.

"We're just going to go look everywhere we can,” said Jodie Foster, parent of one of the boy’s friends. “We've going to head for the water. It’s heading this way, so we're just going to go down and start looking. It's all we can do – hope and pray."

After more than six hours of searching, with Bullskin Creek still raging and the sun falling, emergency crews decided it would not be safe for everyone to continue searching by the rushing creek after dark.

"Because of the conditions and the darkness that's coming on us, we’re shortly going to suspend the search tonight,” said Chief Schadle. “And we'll try to pick it up first thing in the morning unless we get word that the boys have returned home."

Because Bullskin Creek flows into next county, the search has involved both Brown and Clermont counties.