BUTLER TWP — A 2-year-old boy was found in good health after he went missing for more than three hours Friday afternoon at Alameda Park.

The boy, Lian Kovach, made it about a mile before he was eventually found near Blair Drive.

“I’m so grateful for all the people surrounding us here,” Melanie Kovach, the boy’s mother, said shortly after being reunited with the child. “(Rescue units) got here so fast. I’m so overwhelmed with joy.”

Kovach and her son were at the park with a group of mothers from the First United Methodist Church in Butler. She was with Lian on a wooded trail at the lower end of the park when he ran away shortly before 1 p.m.

“I chased after him but he got too far ahead of me,” she said.

Kovach said she reached a point in the trail that she believed was too steep for a 2-year-old, and began searching the area. With Lian nowhere in sight, she contacted 911.

Rescuers were dispatched about 1:30 p.m.

Butler Township police were assisted by Butler City police, state police, the Butler County Sheriff Office, Butler Fire District 3, and employees from the Butler County Parks and Recreation Department.

A bloodhound was called from the Allegheny County Police Department, while a state police helicopter with an infrared camera was in the sky.

Lt. Matthew Pearson with the township police said the bloodhound was specifically trained to pick out scents. Police used Lian’s car seat for the dog to pick up the scent.

Pearson said it is not uncommon for children as young as Lian to run away.

“Kids sometimes just take off,” he said. “They could just think it’s a game.”

About 30 people were searching the woods for Lian.

The boy finally emerged on a steep path near Blair Drive just after 4 p.m. The street runs parallel to Route 422.

“He was muddy but there wasn’t a scratch on him,” his mother said.

Jean Binus, a resident along the drive, said the boy walked up a trail to two rescuers at the top.

“He was covered in mud head to toe,” she said. “I ran into the garage to get him a bottle of water. He wasn’t crying or anything. He was fine — no bruises.”

Kovach was reunited with Lian later along the drive.

The boy’s father, Jon Kovach, was at work when his wife called him about their son being missing.

“I was panicked,” he said. “My heart was racing.”

Jon Kovach was still in the woods looking for his son when his wife was reunited.

“(The police) were calling for me, but I wasn’t able to hear over the helicopters,” he said. “I got back down (to the parking lot) and wasn’t exactly sure what was going on because no one was here.”

Pearson said rescuers were worried about the creek that runs through the park, as well as Route 422 that sits at the top of the hill behind the trail Lian was on.

The boy required no medical treatment after the incident.

“He’s in good shape, good condition,” Pearson said shortly after he was found.