2-year-old Gabriella Vitale found alive and healthy after she was missing overnight in northern Michigan woods
A missing 2-year-old girl was found alive and healthy Tuesday morning after she spent the night lost in the woods while on a family camping trip in northern Michigan, authorities said.
Gabriella Roselynn Vitale was reunited with her mother and taken to a hospital to be evaluated, but first responders say she appears to be in good shape, according to Michigan State Police.
"We would like to express our thanks to God for keeping our sweet Gabriella safe," Gabriella's mother said in a statement: "Thank you to the countless public safety officers, first responders, and those that helped locate our girl. We are forever grateful to the Fairview Community, especially the local, state and DNR officers. Please continue to keep our family in your prayers as we hold Gabriella in our arms."
Gabriella was reported missing on Monday, launching an urgent search. Gabriella's family had told authorities that they had been camping in a wooded area for a few days and were getting ready to leave Monday morning when they noticed that the toddler was gone.
On Tuesday morning, more than 24 hours after she disappeared, Gabriella walked to a home between a quarter mile and a half mile away from the command center, said police.
A resident at the home had been contacted by authorities earlier so she knew Gabriella was missing, said police.
This house was out of the zone that had been searched so far, police said.
Gabriella was missing her bottoms and her shoes, but seemed relatively unfazed for a 2-year-old who had been missing in the woods overnight, said police.
Early into the search, the girl’s pink jacket was found several hundred yards away from where she went missing, police said.
Over 50 searchers and 10 canines were looking for the little girl Tuesday morning before police announced that she had been found.
The family says they live in the Monroe, Michigan, area, which is about 200 miles south of where they were camping.
ABC News' Courtney Condron contributed to this report.
