Three children reported missing Tuesday afternoon were found safe several hours later in Battle Creek.

The Battle Creek Police responded to the 120 block of Oakbrook Blvd. around 6pm, after three children aged 2, 4 and 6 were playing outside and then disappeared.  A large scale search effort was put in place, involving BCPD Emergency Services, the Battle Creek Fire Department, and a large amount of citizen volunteers.

A State Police Helicopter with thermal scanners was even en route from Bay City.

After several hours of searching, the children were located several miles away, at a residence on S. 24th Street in good health.

At this time, it’s not clear why the children were there.

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