Missing 10-Year-Old Girl Found Safe in Her Pajamas After Sleepwalking Into the Woods

“Other than some mosquito bites, she was perfect. It's truly a miracle that she was unharmed,” a local official said

<p>Webster Parish Sheriff

Webster Parish Sheriff's Office/Facebook

Bienville Parish Deputy Sheriff Jeremy Gros with 10-year-old Peyton Saintignan

A 10-year-old girl was found curled up on the ground in the woods, 1.5 miles away from her home, after going missing for more than 24 hours.

On Sunday, Sept. 15, Peyton Saintignan of Louisiana was reported missing after having last been seen the night before while preparing to go to bed, according to a Facebook post from the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office.

The girl was found in the woods that day around 11 p.m. with help from thermal imaging-equipped drones provided by Drone Management Services, which crossed state lines from Arkansas to assist in the rescue.

"She was in dense woods roughly 300 yards from where a trail camera had recorded her earlier Sunday morning," Webster Parish Sheriff Jason Parker said. "She was asleep when we found her. We’ve had her checked by EMS and she is fine, back at home and hungry."

When she went missing, she was reported to have been wearing blue Frozen pajamas and no shoes, per the sheriff’s office. At the time, Parker warned volunteers of searching the wooded area for the young girl, saying that it may affect the "thermal imaging on the helicopter" that they were using in their rescue to "pick up any indication of body heat."

<p>Webster Parish Sheriff's Office/Facebook</p> Bienville Parish Deputy Sheriff Jeremy Gros and Peyton Saintignan

Webster Parish Sheriff's Office/Facebook

Bienville Parish Deputy Sheriff Jeremy Gros and Peyton Saintignan

PEOPLE reached out to the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office for more information but did not hear immediately hear back.

Law enforcement agencies and "hundreds of volunteers" aided in the search, including surrounding police and fire departments, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, state police and the Webster Parish School Board.

Parker praised the drone team for their work, saying, "We had the DeSoto Parish helicopter in the air and couldn’t put drones up at the time, but when it was possible, Josh Klober, Matt Ramos and Micah Carter brought their equipment and successfully located the young girl."

The sheriff added: "I can’t tell you how thrilled we all are to have a happy ending to this. A lot of prayers were answered today."

Parker also offered some words of gratitude to the large amount of people who offered their help during the search, calling it "truly a cooperative effort."

<p>Webster Parish Sheriff's Office/Facebook</p> Drone equipment used to locate Peyton Saintignan

Webster Parish Sheriff's Office/Facebook

Drone equipment used to locate Peyton Saintignan

In an interview with Good Morning America that was aired on Monday, Sept. 23, Parker explained that Saintignan had sleepwalked into the woods near her home. The family said that she had sleepwalked before — but never to such an extreme.

Klober, co-owner of the drone company, recalled locating the child, saying, "We staged up and got everything set up, set the generator up. We had a big, flat-screen TV." Eventually, he spotted Saintignan curled up on the ground while only wearing one shoe. She was roughly 1.5 miles from her home upon discovery.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"We saw the purple and white pajamas that she had been wearing. She was laying there. She wasn't moving and everybody was just kind of holding their breath," he said.

The girl did not suffer any serious injuries.

"Other than some mosquito bites, she was perfect,” Parker said. ”It's truly a miracle that she was unharmed."

While speaking with the Louisiana Radio Network, the officer stated that earlier in the search a person had found a photo of the girl on their trail cam, which revealed her to be "without any water, food, backpack, anything like that."

The latest report stated that Saintignan is "safe and back at home."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.