HAMPTON, Va. — The Hampton Police Division said there’s nothing new to report Wednesday in the search for Codi Bigsby, the four-year-old boy reported missing over two weeks ago.
New leads or not, volunteers still go out as often as they can to search for the little boy.
Chief Mark Talbot had a message for those community search teams on Monday: "God bless them. Keep going."
After two and a half weeks with no sign of the boy, he said it would be hard not to want to keep searching.
"This is all of our obligation. We’re all here for Codi Bigsby. I don’t know if those efforts will be fruitful. But what do you do? Do you sit and do nothing? I don’t think so," Talbot said.
Joe Slabinski has been out with his W.A.T.E.R Team Inc. crew almost every day and they’ve covered a lot of ground.
He said if you show up to volunteer, they have a few ground rules.
"Wear light-colored clothes, preferably boots, gloves," Slabinski said.
If you’re searching with Slabinski’s team, or decide to pick up your walking stick and strike out on your own, he said the number one rule is not to touch anything.
"That’s the biggest thing. Should we find Codi or something that pertains to Codi, we want to give the police the ability to do their job," Slabinski said.
Not everything you come across is evidence, so he says it’s important to know what to look for. He uses a bag as an example.
"Does the bag have any volume to it, is it just laying flat, does it look like it’s been there for a long period of time, is it weathered?"
The Missing Person’s Advocacy Network recommends getting permission before searching anyone's property, taking a picture of anything suspicious you find and tagging the area near it with brightly colored tape for police.
The group also said you should bring a first aid kit, a map, water, a flashlight and protective eyewear.
They also recommend printing flyers out of the missing person and handing them out to anyone you see along your search.
Slabinski said to look at what is around you from multiple angles and to be alert at all times.
"It’s not a marathon, it’s not a sprint, it’s a slow walk," he said.