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The Army says Sgt. Cody Robinett of the 9th Mission Support Command's 3303rd Mobilization Support Battalion played a pivotal role in finding a missing child last month on Guam.

The Army says Sgt. Cody Robinett of the 9th Mission Support Command's 3303rd Mobilization Support Battalion played a pivotal role in finding a missing child last month on Guam. (Melodie Tafao/U.S. Army)

The Army says Sgt. Cody Robinett of the 9th Mission Support Command's 3303rd Mobilization Support Battalion played a pivotal role in finding a missing child last month on Guam.

The Army says Sgt. Cody Robinett of the 9th Mission Support Command's 3303rd Mobilization Support Battalion played a pivotal role in finding a missing child last month on Guam. (Melodie Tafao/U.S. Army)

The Army says Sgt. Cody Robinett of the 9th Mission Support Command's 3303rd Mobilization Support Battalion played a pivotal role in finding a missing child last month on Guam.

The Army says Sgt. Cody Robinett of the 9th Mission Support Command's 3303rd Mobilization Support Battalion played a pivotal role in finding a missing child last month on Guam. (Melodie Tafao/U.S. Army)

An Army Reservist on Guam earned his unit’s recognition for finding a child who went missing for several hours in Yigo late last month.

Sgt. Cody Robinett, of the 3303rd Mobilization Support Battalion, first heard about the missing girl through a WhatsApp group chat on Dec. 28, according to a 9th Mission Support Command statement Tuesday.

He immediately joined the search and, more than five hours later, found the girl atop the roof of her family’s home.

“I could tell she was scared when we found her,” Robinett said in the statement. “She appeared to be in good health, and I was only able to conduct an initial assessment before we got her off the roof.”

The girl was handed over to the local fire department in Yigo for a full evaluation, he said.

Robinett, who holds a civilian position at Guam’s Andersen Air Force Base as a supply technician for the 734th Air Mobility Squadron, also serves as a transportation management coordinator in the Army Reserves, the statement said.

Robinett was in Yigo when the message went out about the missing girl. Her last known location was nearby.

Robinett reached out to authorities for directions to that location, then he and a neighbor met up with first responders and volunteered to assist.

He was asked to re-scan the area around the child’s home, which had been previously searched that afternoon.

“We were near the back side of the house and just happened to shine a light on the roof at the same time she had poked her head up,” Robinett said. “We were unclear if it was her; however, there was a kid on the roof, so we investigated and verified it was her.”

Robinett could not be reached for comment Thursday. Joint Region Marianas spokesman Navy Lt. Cmdr. Rick Moore referred Stars and Stripes to 9th Mission Support Command officials in Hawaii and Guam who did not immediately return phone messages and emails seeking comment.

“Sgt. Robinett is responsible, dedicated, and loyal,” Robinett’s boss, Maj. Howard Santiago Jr., said in the statement. “Selfless service is not something that just stops when you take off the military uniform, and Sgt. Robinett is a true testament to that.”

For their role in the rescue, Robinett thanked the Guam fire and police departments, the statement said.

“In a time of need, many came together and offered their support, and that is what makes this island so great,” he said.

burke.matt@stripes.com Twitter: @MatthewMBurke1

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Matthew M. Burke has been reporting from Grafenwoehr, Germany, for Stars and Stripes since 2024. The Massachusetts native and UMass Amherst alumnus previously covered Okinawa, Sasebo Naval Base and Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, for the news organization. His work has also appeared in the Boston Globe, Cape Cod Times and other publications.

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