ASHLAND CITY, TN (WSMV) – After three days of searching, 9-year-old Jordan Allen Gorman was found safe on Tuesday afternoon, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said.
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
TBI said a rescue team located Jordan by a creek in Cheatham County around 3 p.m. Even though he was “cold and hungry,” Jordan is in “pretty good spirits,” TBI officials said.
“Very rare that you have a missing child with this outcome,” TBI Spokesperson Josh Devine said.
Cold and hungry, but otherwise in pretty good spirits! Good to see you, Jordan! ❤️#TNAMBERAlert pic.twitter.com/SLEVH8EIZE
— Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (@TBInvestigation) November 17, 2020
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation originally put out an Endangered Child Alert for Jordan on Sunday. Still, it upped it to an Amber Alert on Monday afternoon, a status reserved for children who are considered to be in “imminent danger.”
Search crews focused their efforts on the heavily wooded area along with the Cheatham and Davidson County line. Jordan’s parents said he ran off after a disagreement in their home near Valley View Road around noon on Sunday.
Cheatham County Sheriff deputies and other law enforcement agencies are searching for a 9-year-old boy who ran away from his home after a fight with his parents.
Gorman was found alive by a team from Kentucky, the Christian County Rescue Team. They said they were looking at the creek area and had almost turned around when one of them saw a blue tarp in the distance.
“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 and it was just the biggest holy crap, I got him. And it’s exactly what I said on the radio,” Mathew Reese with the Christian County Rescue Team said. “As soon as I realized he was there, radio backed to these two. Hey, I have him, I have him. Eyes on, hands-on, get up here.”
All three of those men are fathers themselves and say that helped their drive to find Jordan.
“Think about it in your perspective of, well what if this was my child, and that’s what makes you drive to get out there and find him. And ride wood lines and thorns and everything like that just to help that one family because you know how hard it would be if it was your child,” Logan Fryar with Christian County Rescue Team said.
TBI officials said they were concerned about Jordan’s health because of freezing temperatures on Sunday and Monday. Another cold night was expected on Tuesday.
They say Gorman didn’t say much initially but started to warm up to them. They were talking about a deer that was spotted in the area.
The nine-year-old is being evaluated since he was out in the frigid temperatures for two nights.
The creek bed where he was found was only about three-quarters of a mile from his home.
Aaron Hatt said he and his wife knew they had to come to Cheatham County and interview with investigators.
On Tuesday night, they were elated and relieved to find out Jordan was safe. Hatt said he was also blown away by his son’s strength.
“He’s always just been really resilient and an explorer type but to be standing for two days with no jacket no shoes no socks. I don’t like going to the living room, let alone outside and walking three-quarters of a mile through the woods with no socks and shoes on, through sticks and rocks I mean it’s just crazy.”
Jordan was living in Cheatham County with his two siblings and their foster parents. But they say he was especially close with his older sister Jocelyn.