Boy, 4, With Heart Condition Missing In Beaver Co.
Hundreds Of Volunteers, Firefighters, Officials Search Greene Township
POSTED: 8:39 am EDT September 5, 2009
UPDATED: 12:30 pm EDT September 5, 2009


GREENE TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The FBI joined as many as 500 people Saturday who are searching a rural part of Beaver County for a missing 4-year-old boy with a heart condition.



Wyatt Thomas Smitsky, 4, who has a congenital heart defect, disappears while playing outside Friday night.


Wyatt Thomas Smitsky, who has a congenital heart defect that requires medication, disappeared while playing outside his home in the 600 block of Georgetown Road in Greene Township early Friday evening. Police said they think he may have wandered off and got lost at about 6:30 p.m. Authorities received a call for the missing child at about 7:30 p.m.

A relative told WTAE Channel 4's Bob Mayo on Saturday morning that Wyatt had been outside playing with his 3-year-old and 6-year-old sisters. When the children's mother called them in for dinner, the girls came home, but Wyatt did not. The relative said the girls told their mother that Wyatt went under a "sticky fence."

Hundreds Search Dense Wooded Area

Gathering Friday evening, hundreds of volunteers -- some using all-terrain vehicles -- rescue team members and firefighters scoured a 2-mile area of dense woods with search dogs until about 3 a.m. Saturday, when authorities continued searching, but gave volunteers a break.



Hundreds of volunteers -- some using all-terrain vehicles -- rescue team members and firefighters scour dense woods with search dogs in a rural area of Beaver County to search for a missing boy. A state police helicopter with infrared detection joins in the effort.


"We just gave some of the volunteers a break, but there have been people working around the clock," state police Trooper Robert Lagoon said. "We still have folks that have been here since it started and all through the night, and we've been working on this case and trying to get this resolved as soon as we can."

"It's just the volunteers who have been gracious with their time, we wanted to give them a break and we've had other folks here -- fire department, county detectives, sheriff's department, other law enforcement and state police -- pretty much, we've been here all night," Lagoon added.

A state police helicopter with infrared detection joined in the effort, which was triggered with the use of technology the county employs in emergencies.



Searchers reconvene Saturday morning to find Wyatt Thomas Smitsky, who was last seen wearing a brown military-style T-shirt, blue denim shorts and black-and-red Spiderman flip-flops.


"Beaver County has a system in place where they can alert residents ... of what's going on, and they immediately put that blast out to everyone in this phone exchange. So, immediately, they're notified that this little boy is missing and they can be on the lookout for him," state police Lt. Steve Ignatz said.

Searchers gathered to form 10 groups Saturday at about 10 a.m. The searchers were joined by dogs, horses and ATVs, WTAE Channel 4's Bob Mayo reported.

Wyatt was last seen wearing a brown military-style T-shirt, blue denim shorts and black-and-red Spiderman flip-flops.

A Google Earth map showed the geography in the area is wooded, undeveloped terrain.

If you have information regarding this continuing investigation, contact Pennsylvania State Police.

Many Factors Contribute To Missing Boy's Danger

The risk for children with congenital heart defects varies from case to case. Doctors describe that type of condition as someone with an abnormal connection between heart chambers, or valves that are in the wrong place.

Cardiologist Dr. Joe O'Toole told WTAE Channel 4 Action News that blood-thinning medication and the environment are key factors in Wyatt's case.

"I think the weather may impact that as well, getting cold this time of year, in particular, the overnight. A young boy who may or may not be taking multiple medications for the heart, certainly, with the temperatures going low with any degree of isotonic heart disease would become more dangerous," O'Toole said.

Relatives said Wyatt must take medication three times a day, and they believe he didn't get his evening dose Friday night. They said Wyatt has undergone three heart surgeries, including one five days after he was born and another at age 2.