HAWKINS Co Tenn (May 12, 2016)- Two men became heroes Thursday when they found a missing 9-year-old girl in a remote section of Hawkins county in east Tennessee.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director Mark Gwyn said, two hereos held Carlie Marie Trent’s suspected abductor, Gary Simpson, at gunpoint until authorities arrived, “These are two heroes who went on their property just to see if they were there,” Gwyn said. “The public is who rescued Carlie and without their assistance I wouldn’t be standing here tonight.”

The TBI asked the public to look in their barns and on their property and four-wheel trails for clues. 9-year-old Carlie Trent and Simpson were found on Highway 70 North at Gravely Valley Road in Eidson. Donnie Lawson and Stewart Franklin, found Carlie and Simpson deep in their property along trails only accessible by 4-wheelers.

Gary Simpson is charged with kidnapping of his 9-year-old niece, Carlie Trent. Authorities say he took Carlie out of school on false pretenses.

Carlie went missing May 4 after her uncle by marriage, Gary Simpson, removed her without permission from her school in Rogersville, the TBI said. On Wednesday, May 4, 2016, an Amber Alert had been issued and the FBI made the disappearance the case of the week on its website.

Officials said Simpson at one point had custody of the girl, but her father recently regained custody and the uncle had no custodial rights at the time she disappeared.

Gary Simpson went to Carlie’s school and told school officials that the father had been in an accident. Later in the day, the two were captured on surveillance cameras at a grocery store.  Josh DeVine, TBI spokesman, said Simpson bought clothing and camping equipment before going to the school, so investigators thought they might have been staying in the woods.

Carlie appeared to be safe but was taken to a hospital to be checked out, Gwyn said.

Gary Simpson, 57, is charged with Especially Aggravated Kidnapping and may face other charges. He’s being held in the Hawkins County Jail.