OXFORD — Local police, with the help of a tracking dog, spent hours Wednesday night searching for a child reported to be wrapped in a blanket walking outside in the cold.

“They tracked, and found nothing,” Lt. Mike Ward said Thursday morning. “We have checked with the school and all the children were accounted for. We have had no child reported missing, either, so we may have to go with ‘unfounded’ at this point.”

A passer-by reported to police Wednesday night that she had seen a boy between the ages of 9 and 11 walking along Marr Lane near King Street wearing socks and wrapped in a blanket. She told police she had stopped and told the child to go back home, that it was too cold to be out dressed like that. 

Sgt. Rickie Jack conducted a door-to-door search to determine the child’s home. He found a bundle of clothing by the side of the road that appeared, according to the police report, to be the sort a child might put together if running away.

Maine State Police Trooper Adam Fillebrown and his dog Argos joined the search. 

Jack’s report noted there were some tracks along King Street headed toward Marr Lane that appeared to be made by a child’s bare or stockinged foot, but they stopped at the asphalt.

Anyone with any information should contact Oxford Police Department at 539-4414.