4029tv.com: A couple have temporarily lost custody of their 21-month-old son after he was found walking along the center divide line of Highway 64.

"I don't see how the child failed to get run over by an automobile," said Franklin County Sheriff Reed Haynes.

According to the sheriff's department, the young boy walked away from his home, which sits about 100 feet from the highway.

"The area had a sharp curve on the west of the child; you had a sharp curve on the east," Haynes said.

Lin Sanford, an employee of Arkansas Western Gas, was traveling the stretch when he saw the boy. He stopped and pulled him to safety.

"We got there and the man was in tears from what happened," Haynes said. "He almost saw the child run over by two automobiles."

After the boy was rescued, Haynes went to the home and made contact with his parents, Jason Wilson and Emily Kline.

"It took them awhile to come to the door, and they were unaware the child went missing," said Haynes.

Kline told Haynes that prior to him leaving the home she had fed him a bowl of cereal.

The toddler was taken to Ozark's Department of Human Services office. After an interview with his parents, DHS took the child into custody.

Wilson and Kline each face a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child.

KHBS/KHOG-TV tried to reach the parents for comment Thursday night, but no one appeared to be home.

Haynes said the Arkansas Western Gas employee was the boy's saving grace.

"He is a hero to the Franklin County Sheriff's Department and for the citizens -- for saving this child's life today," Haynes said.

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