Missing Children Found Safe In Sam Houston National Forest

MONTGOMERY, TX — Three children who were reported missing Thursday night near Sam Houston National Forest were found safe Friday morning, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

The children were found about a mile away from where they initially wandered off when they emerged from the forest near a connector road, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Lt. Scott Spencer said.

The children — a 6-year-old boy, a 6-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy — were reported missing at the 20800 block of Julie Lane in Montgomery at 8 p.m. Friday after they didn't arrive at a nearby house. The children took a commonly used trail that connects the residences and keeps kids off a busy road. Law enforcement focused their search around the Flamingo Lakes subdivision, according to authorities.

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The children wandered off on their own and received medical attention and food before being reunited with their families. They were not injured.

The names of the children are not being released, and there is no criminal investigation, authorities said.

"They were simply lost is what it appears, just like we originally hoped," Spencer said in a news conference. "We couldn't have asked for a better outcome than for the children to be safe and unharmed."