FROM STAFF REPORTS

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a missing toddler in the Mt Laurel area.

The child has been missing since about 6 p.m. June 6, according to a release from the sheriff’s office.

When first notified, deputies responded to the scene to search for the child but were not able to find the child. The Calera, Harpersville and Cahaba Valley fire departments responded to help in the search, along with the local Emergency Management Agency. The Alabama Department of Public Safety also responded with a specially trained helicopter and personnel.

The area where the child disappeared is heavily wooded, and there is a sizeable lake nearby where the child had been playing. The lake was searched by trained divers.

The search began again June 7 around dawn, but deputies remained on the scene throughout the night. Additional deputies began searching this morning, and divers were expected to search the lake again.

Investigators are looking at all possible circumstances for the child’s disappearance, but for now, the focus is on a lost child, according to the release.