UPDATE 12:45 p.m.: Officials: Ethan McIntosh found alive

Feb. 23—Investigators say they found a missing Oklahoma teenager alive.

Muscogee Creek Nation Press Secretary Jason Salsman said Ethan McIntosh was found alive in the Texanna Road area more than 20 miles from where he was last seen in Stidham, in southeast Oklahoma.

"All day long, all of us involved in this story, all of us involved in looking and working this case hoped and prayed for a happy ending and it seems like that's what we have here," Salsman said.

McIntosh was reported missing after being last seen around 5:45 p.m. Monday and multi-agency searches overnight were unsuccessful.

Salsman said he didn't have details yet on how McIntosh was found or who found him. He added that there was no initial indication that McIntosh was injured.

He thanked agencies involved in the search efforts, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Muskogee Nation Lighthorse, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and more.

"We are so very fortunate that all these agencies came together," Salsman said.

Investigators will continue looking into the reasons leading to his disappearance.

Salsman said community members also joined the search to find McIntosh, the 13-year-old son of Peggy McGuire, a Eufaula nurse who has been missing since November 2015.

Peggy McGuire was last seen and heard from on Nov. 16, 2015, after she dropped her son off at school in Canadian that morning, family members previously told the News-Capital.

She talked on the phone with her father at 8:15 a.m. on her way home from Canadian about fixing the deck for her house and she was supposed to meet her mother, Betty Davis, at a basketball game that evening.

Salsman said the community was shocked when Peggy McGuire went missing and continues searching for justice and closure.

"I'm a son of Eufaula and let me tell you, this community is really tight-knit," Salsman said. "Even if people aren't related, they know one another and they care about each other."

Investigators have not found anything connecting the cases as of Tuesday afternoon.

UPDATE 11 a.m.

Efforts to find a missing Oklahoma teenager intensified Tuesday morning as more agencies and volunteers joined the search.

Ethan McIntosh, the 13-year-old son of a Eufaula woman who has been missing since 2015, was last seen feeding cows around 5:45 p.m. Monday on a Kubota tractor in Stidham, according to Jason Salsman, a Muscogee Creek representative. He said a multi-agency search overnight was unsuccessful and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents did not uncover new leads after assessing the scene where the tractor was abandoned.

"The immediacy and the urgency of this moment is on his discovery and getting him back safe," Salsman told the News-Capital. "That's the main focus right now."

Family members reported last seeing McIntosh around 5:45 p.m. Monday feeding cows from the tractor, which was later discovered abandoned.

Salsman said the boy was last seen wearing a flannel jacket or shirt, ripped blue jeans, muck boots, and glasses.

He added that more 60 people have joined the search efforts — including multiple agencies and local volunteers who brought their all-terrain vehicles and know the area.

"That's very helpful as well and they're people that care about this case," Salsman said.

Investigators were unable to get a cell phone ping in the area and some boot prints other elements at the scene might be "going away," Salsman said.

He added some leads "haven't panned out" as investigators continue their efforts to find McIntosh.

"We're doing everything within our power to just go look and see because right now we know that he's gone and we don't have any resolution to that," Salsman said. "We can't waste any more time, we have to send out as many people as possible."

Peggy McGuire was last seen and heard from on Nov. 16, 2015, after she dropped her son off at school in Canadian that morning, family members previously told the News-Capital.

She talked on the phone with her father at 8:15 a.m. on her way home from Canadian about fixing the deck for her house and she was supposed to meet her mother, Betty Davis, at a basketball game that evening.

As the case continues, Salsman said it's a reminder why search efforts must continue.

"Considering the last case, you want them to have all the time they need to make sure they can process and have everything they need," Salsman said. "Hopefully they'll find the clues leading to him."

However, Salsman said investigators do not believe the cases are connected as of Tuesday morning.

"Today, it's about Ethan, not about his mom," Salsman said. "We mourn for her disappearance; we still will never give up on her disappearance; we want some closure there; we want some resolution. But I don't want that to be a focus when we're trying to get him back safe."

He added there is no indication as of Tuesday morning suggesting foul play.

Salsman said investigators hope to find McIntosh safe.

Anyone with information can call 911 or the Lighthorse Police Department at 918-732-7850.

ORIGINAL STORY

Multiple law enforcement agencies are searching for 13-year-old Ethan McIntosh, who is the son of a Eufaula woman who has been missing since 2015.

Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Police officials said several agencies searched on foot, with a helicopter and a drone overnight after family members reported McIntosh missing at 5:45 p.m. Monday.

Family members confirmed on social media that McIntosh is the son of Peggy McGuire, a woman missing from the Eufaula area since November 2015.

Jason Salsman, a Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Police representative, said any connection between the two cases is speculative at this point and law enforcement agencies are focused on finding the missing boy.

"The immediacy and the urgency of this moment is on his discovery and getting him back safe," Salsman told the News-Capital. "That's the main focus right now."

McIntosh was last seen wearing a flannel jacket or shirt, ripped blue jeans, muck boots, and glasses, Salsman said.

Salsman said McIntosh was reportedly last seen at 5:45 p.m. Monday operating a Kubota tractor while feeding cattle in the Stidham area in McIntosh County.

He said officers found the tractor abandoned in a field and the boy was nowhere to be found.

Salsman said family started notifying people overnight that McIntosh was missing then notified McIntosh County law enforcement.

He said McIntosh County contacted Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Police, and they were then joined in the search by Oklahoma Highway Patrol with a helicopter for an aerial search overnight.

Salsman said Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics also joined the search with a drone

"Nothing turned up," Salsman said. "We're still continuing to search now."

He said the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies are investigating the scene where the tractor was found.

Salsman said officials will continue searching and anyone with information can call 911 or the Lighthorse Police Department at 918-732-7850.

"We're trying to turn over every stone we can to try to find this boy," Salsman said.

Peggy McGuire was last seen and heard from on Nov. 16, 2015, after she dropped her son off at school in Canadian that morning, family members previously told the News-Capital.

She talked on the phone with her father at 8:15 a.m. on her way home from Canadian about fixing the deck for her house and she was supposed to meet her mother, Betty Davis, at a basketball game that evening.

Salsman said authorities hope to find the missing boy safe.

"It's a terrible situation," Salsman said."It makes it that much worse that it's Peggy McGuire's son and makes it just weird. So we're gutted just like everybody else and we want to find him as fast as possible and praying that he's safe and good."