The silence in the forest felt unnatural. Only a few hours earlier, the narrow mountain road had been crowded with flashing emergency lights, rescue trucks, and exhausted volunteers rushing into the wilderness carrying radios, ropes, thermal scanners, and medical equipment. Voices echoed through the trees as search teams coordinated routes and called out the name of the missing child over and over again. But as the night dragged on and the cold deepened, the atmosphere slowly changed. Rainwater dripped steadily from towering pine branches. Mud covered the boots of rescuers who had already spent countless hours climbing through difficult terrain....
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