A search for a missing 1-year-old in Warwick Township ended safely Thursday after the toddler was believed to have possibly walked away from the family's farm near Millway Road, perhaps toward a nearby cornfield. Crews located the child safely, with no injuries reported by county dispatch.
According to WHP, the child was last seen shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday and was reported missing around 11:08 a.m., according to county dispatch. The search centered on the 600 block of Millway Road, a rural stretch of Warwick Township that county dispatch identified as the location where crews converged to look for the child, per the same account.
The Warwick to Ephrata Rail Trail has an access point on Millway Road, according to TrailLink.
A Township Built Around Farmland
The setting is no accident of geography. Warwick Township spans 12,780 total acres, with 3,383 acres permanently preserved as active farmland, according to Warwick Township. The township maintains that agricultural landscape in part through a Transferable Development Rights program.
Lancaster County is a major food producer. Cases like Thursday's search underscore a risk that researchers have flagged for young children living on or near working farms.
Farm Safety in Agricultural Communities
An estimated 33 children are injured in agriculture-related incidents across the United States every day. Warwick Township's active farmland is part of the township's landscape.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture supports youth farm-safety day camps and PA Ag Rescue training, per EHS Today. Pennsylvania also has a Farm Safety and Occupational Health Act.
Search Technology
A thermal drone was used in a Wisconsin rescue, according to Pulsar. Whether such technology was used in Thursday's search in Warwick Township has not been detailed publicly.
All police, fire, and EMS dispatches across Lancaster County's 60 municipalities, including missing child calls in Warwick Township, are routed through Lancaster County-Wide Communications.
The child was found safely.
