Search for missing 3-year-old boy in Grimes County enters third day

PLANTERSVILLE, Texas - The search for a missing 3-year-old boy in Grimes County has entered its third day.

Christopher Ramirez was last seen around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday when he went missing from his home on Deer Park Lane off FM 1774.

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Christopher’s mother and grandmother were reportedly unloading the car when the mother says she realized it had been about two minutes since she last saw her son.

Authorities say a neighbor reported seeing the boy chasing a dog down the road, and the mother ran in the direction that they reportedly went but didn’t find the boy.

Grimes County Sheriff’s Deputies, FBI Agents, Texas Game Warden Officers, TDCJ dogs, DPS helicopter crews, and Texas Equusearch volunteers have been searching the thick woods near the family’s home.

"We had a couple of bodies of water, small tanks, we checked those out," Grimes County Sheriff Don Sowell said Thursday. "So far none of that produced anything, thank goodness. We have no information of any form, fashion, or shape that there’s any foul play involved, however, it hasn’t been ruled out."

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On Friday morning, the sheriff said that teams would be expanding the search area slightly.

Nearby ponds have been drained and the drones have been up. 

Texas DPS helicopters have hovered over the woods for days and hundreds of volunteers have walked for miles, arms-length apart searching in a grid for the missing 3-year-old.

"We have a phenomenal bunch of people out here going over and over what we’ve already been over," said Sheriff Sowell. "We have no leads to go on, (no more) than we had [Thursday]."

The sheriff adds and he says they are "re-visiting" family and extended family including little Christopher’s stepfather who is a registered sex offender.

According to Texas DPS, the stepfather sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl. The sheriff says they are told the stepfather was at work at the time the toddler disappeared. 

"We’re pinpointing employment records, clock out times, timesheets at one place where the stepfather works at," Sheriff Sowell explains. 

News of the missing toddler is touching and breaking the hearts of everyone hearing about it. One father and son from Richmond drove an hour and a half to help search. 

"I’ve got three girls myself and I’ve got a newborn. So when you hear stuff like this it hits home," said Raymond Ramirez. "We share the same last name. We don’t know them but we feel a bond," says Raymond Ramirez. 

His father Jose Ramirez says he came packing only prayers, water and his Bible in his backpack. 

"In these situations, you can not go to anybody to help you but God," says the elder Ramirez. 

The boy was last seen wearing a bright green shirt, shorts and red Mikey Mouse shoes. He is about three feet tall and weighs 40 to 45 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Grimes County Sheriff's Office at (936)873-2151.