‘She was a tough little girl’: Man finds missing Chesterfield girl safe in the woods

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WWBT) - In the middle of a media briefing regarding the search efforts to find 11-year-old Isabelle Pittera, who was reported missing near her home on Monday evening, the Chesterfield Police Department announced the young girl was found by a community member alive and safe in a wooded area near Clarendon Park.

On Tuesday morning, Kevin Zavinsky spoke to 12 On Your Side and said he found Isabelle.

“I’m a stay-at-home parent and I got some free time and, honestly, I just wanted to get out and do what I could,” said Zavinsky about his motivation to search for the young girl. “I would want someone to do that if it was either of my children.”

Chesterfield Police sent out an alert for the community to look out for Pittera, who officers said was diagnosed with an intellectual disability. During Tuesday’s briefing, police said the search efforts started on Monday evening after Isabelle got upset while playing a game with her sisters and left.

WATCH THE PRESS CONFERENCE HERE:

As officers used a variety of resources to comb through six different areas to find her, Zavinsky had a hunch.

“I’d just seen that her mom had mentioned that she liked water,” he said. “I saw Falling Creek was nearby. I saw it was a cool area, Falling Creek, and if I was a kid that’s where I’d be.”

Following this feeling, Zavinsky went over to Clarendon Park to start searching for Isabelle.

“I went off the trail and kind of just tried to make my way back and forth from the bank to where I could, I happened to be crossing over a little stream and looked and saw that flash of pink,” he told 12 On Your Side.

In this moment, Zavinsky said he found Isabelle sitting in a clearing in the woods, scratched up and cold.

“Honestly, I told her she was a tough little girl. I’m out here in a sweater and a vest and I was cold and she made it all night,” he said. “I had a first aid kit, so I got the emergency blanket out, wrapped her up in that.”

Zavinsky dialed 911, a call leading up to the moment when Chesterfield Police found out the young girl was safe in the middle of Tuesday’s media briefing.

“She was found by a member of the community, that is what we need, right,” said Capt. Pete Cimbal at the podium. “We need people to pay attention to some of the news alerts and the media releases that we give and also to look at their camera systems. At this point, that person probably needs a great thank you.”

For Zavinsky, seeing the young girl reunite with her family was everything.

“Seeing her and her mom hugging was all I could’ve asked for,” said Zavinsky. “I’m so just elated. I’m just very, very happy.”