Story Highlight (breaking news edition): Child goes missing

A search is underway for a missing 5-year-old boy. Police, helicopters, search and rescue crews were searching for him overnight on Tuesday. I arrived to the area he went missing about 10 hours after he was last seen. The heat was beginning to beam down upon the small town about an hour outside of Boise. Helicopters buzzed overhead and the sense of desperation filled the air.

As I began to update people on social media, the concern from the public was immediate. People offered their prayers and asked if any help was needed. People stopped by in-person to offer their help in the search. I spoke with a family member of the missing boy, who said they’ve seen hundreds of people take part in supporting them. Law enforcement, drones, K-9s, and helicopters from different agencies collaborated to search the neighborhood and nearby land.

Despite the amount of support, as I write this over one week later, the boy has not been found. These are never the stories we as journalists look forward to telling. It’s these stories that also show us the rawest sides of humanity. The sides of loss, grief, and uncertainty. The love, the sense of community, and the urgency. Our job description gives us an opportunity to detach and keep ourselves out of a story, but I can tell you, lots of prayers are said from the sidelines. I pray that for any person who has been hurt or grieving, that I can offer them love and care and an outlet to listen.