SPANISH FORT, Ala. (WALA) – There was cause for celebration in Spanish Fort on Monday afternoon, August 19, 2024, when 14-year-old Twyla Tarvin, who had been missing since Saturday afternoon, was found alive and unharmed. She was found by her mother under a shed near where she was last seen on a security camera.

Taylor Hill was searching in the woods near Huckleberry Road when she heard about the emotional reunion. She walked up the road and shared the great news with other family members and search parties who had already gathered.

“So, the building the camera is pointing at, there’s a shed over there. Her mommy found her. Her mommy found her,” Hill announced jubilantly. “They pulled the thing down and her mommy found her. She was just there. She’s perfectly fine.”

The missing 14-year-old was found by her mother under a tarp in a shed at a home on Huckleberry Drive, off Buzbee Road. Twyla was given a clean shirt, plenty of fluids and taken to a waiting ambulance for evaluation. She was accompanied by her family and police officers who had also been searching the area for her.

This was a key area because it was the last place she had been seen. She appeared on a security camera attached to a building just outside the shed where she was found. This footage was taken around 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning. Between then and the time she was found Monday afternoon, the same area was searched more than once. More than 100 volunteers combed the woods and residential areas along Buzbee Road and Jimmy Faulkner Boulevard throughout the day.

The family described Twyla as autistic and mostly non-verbal. There was concern that she would not respond even if she heard people calling for her. But it was only when she heard her mother calling for her from the shed where the search had begun the day before that she responded. Twyla lives with her stepmother, who said she was overwhelmed by the good news.

“Inexplicable joy because of course thoughts go through your mind that someone could die and who wants to know their child is lost,” said Twyla’s stepmother Stephanie. “Even though she walked away from the house, I don’t know if she just walked up the path and got locked out. I don’t know what happened but imagine this… day, night. She was caught on camera at about 1:30 in the morning. She was never afraid of the dark but imagine your child being outside alone like that. I thank God that this community is a safe community.”

Twyla’s family is extremely grateful for the tremendous support from the community, local and state police agencies, and the United Cajun Navy, who coordinated much of the community search effort.

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