After a three-and-a-half hour search on Friday night, an 11-year-old boy was found cold but safe in rural Powell.

The Park County Sheriff's Office said the boy apparently wrecked while biking near Polecat Bench, then got stuck on a ridge.

The boy's mother, Tamara Hallman, reported him as missing around 5:45 p.m., about an hour after he'd left for the bike ride.

The family lives on Road 12H, a couple miles northwest of Powell; Tamara Hallman told sheriff's deputies she thought the boy had headed west on Lane 8, toward the bench.

Deputies drove the roads around the area and went door-to-door, asking residents if they had seen the boy or if they knew where he could be, said a Saturday news release from the Sheriff's Office. The boys' father, Everett Hallman, and nearly a dozen volunteers had already begun searching for the child, the release said.

"By this time, the sun had set, temperatures were dropping, and the boy was dressed only in a light jacket," said Sheriff's Office spokesman Lance Mathess.

Around 9:15 p.m., Everett Hallman found his son on top of the bench near the Powell Municipal Airport. He was about seven miles from home.

"The boy was cold but otherwise unharmed," Mathess said.

The boy explained that he'd wrecked his bike on a two-track road near the base of Polecat Bench, then climbed up a ridge.

"He said he could see everyone looking for him below but was unable to get down," Mathess said.

Sheriff Scott Steward praised the efforts of the community that immediately came together to search for the child.

“Our residents are always willing to do whatever it takes to bring these situations to a successful outcome,” Steward said in a statement.  “It’s just the kind of community we live in.”