I live near the area and I just want to say a few things.
1. These woods are unforgiving and easy to get lost in. I've played in the west TN forests and woods since I was a kid, even small wooded areas are easy to get lost in. There was an experienced hunter that got lost for days in the forest of Shelby. So imagine how easy it would be for a two year old. When I was a kid, me and my friends would find all kinds of neat hiding places and holes to play in or built forts for dirt clod battles. These things are great when you're a teenager that knows the area, but a nightmare for a two year old. I mention all of this because I keep seeing comments about how "strange" it is that he hasn't been found, despite the massive search. Anyone who has been inside these forests will tell you it would be insanely easy to overlook something, especially if they are a tiny two year old child. This poor child could have fallen in a sink hole or fallen asleep in a rotted tree trunk and no one would be able to see him, especially if leaves are covering him up.
2. Search dogs are a joke when it comes to finding missing people. I blame CSI and Law and Order for making the general public think they are reliable. I can't think of any case where they have found a missing person. That's not to say that the dogs are useless, but people really do give them too much credit. There was a story not too long ago where a woman went missing in the woods and people preformed a grid search and used the dog. Months later they found the body. Everyone, including the dogs, had missed her, despite searching the area. I mention this because I keep seeing people saying that it's "weird" how the dogs haven't picked up anything. It's not weird at all given the fact that they aren't infallible, especially when you throw in the wet weather and all the other smells contaminating the area.
3. It's not weird that grandma took them out there. Like I said, I used to play in the woods all the time as a kid, that's just something people out in west TN do.
I am not trying to be rude, so I hope I'm not. I just dislike so many people talking about this area like they know it, when it's obvious they have never been here. I dislike people implying that something shady went on, when it's pretty obvious that this is just a terrible story that could have happened to anyone. Everyone out here is so shocked and distraught about Noah and not being able to find him, and it really sucks to see rumors and accusations come up. Please remember this story involves real people and how much it hurts to hear that people think the family did something. Aren't they suffering enough?
