The mother of Carson Shephard told of her relief after her missing son was found by police hiding in his granny's loft.
The seven-year-old was reported missing from the property where he lives with gran Jacquie McCartney, in New Cumnock, Ayrshire at 7.20pm on Sunday.
His disappearance sparked a huge search operation involving sniffer dogs and helicopters, with teams of local people joining the hunt and looking through sheds and outbuildings for the lad.
Carson's mum Gemma Glover, told how she was fearing the worst before her boy was discovered by specialist cops during a THIRD search of the attic.
Relieved Gemma, who lives in Rutherglen near Glasgow, said she found out her son was missing through Facebook at 11.30pm last night as her phone was broken.
The worried 27-year-old had raced to New Cumnock to join the search.
The mum-of-two said when Carson still hadn't been found by 10am, she was beside herself.
Gemma told the Record: “We were fearing the worst.
“With the weather the way it was last night I didn’t think he was going to make it through.
“It was a horrible feeling this morning seeing all the kids going to school holding their mum and dad’s hands, and I’m just thinking ‘he’s not survived this cold all night’.
“The police searched the loft three times and didn’t find him.
"Then they brought in the specialist team this morning and using heat sensors they discovered him lying under insulation in the loft.
“My daughter was asking, ‘why are you searching there again? You’ve searched three times,’ and then they found him.
Gemma said the relief was indescribable when they found Carson.
She said: “It was an amazing feeling when the police said they had good news.”
“He’s been living with my mum for a few months now.
“We’re just so relieved. We’re laughing now but trust me, we were not laughing earlier on.
“We didn’t think he was going to make it through the night.
“But he was in the house the whole time. He had a wee cover and even said he managed to have a sleep.”
She added: "He’s not in any trouble, we’re just glad he’s okay.
"He said he had heard the police searching for him but just stayed quiet under the cover.
“I just could not believe it when they said they found him.”
Police confirmed this morning that Carson had been traced 'safe and well' and thanked the local community for their tireless efforts.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "He was found hiding in a wall cavity during a detailed search of his home address by specialist officers."
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