BUSHNELL, Fla. — Hundreds of people — law enforcement and civilians alike — took to the woods all day Tuesday as part of a massive search for Peyton Pickard, a 16-year-old autistic boy who was reported missing from his home Monday night.

They spent their day working through dense vegetation and muddy swamps before the teen was found by a Sumter County Sheriff's Office bloodhound less than a mile from his home Tuesday evening.

"Peyton was found in neck-deep water in a lake in a swamp next to the river," Sumter County Undersheriff Patrick Breeden said during a press conference after Pickard was found.

When searchers found him, the teen was dehydrated and covered in bug bites and scratches, but was otherwise fine, Breeden said.

"He walked out (of the woods) on his own once we got him out of the water," he said.

Breeden said Pickard was found "quite a ways back in the woods."

"And he was very thirsty, so he was drinking a lot of fluids," Breeden said, describing how one of the searchers gave the teen a Gatorade when he was found.

According to investigators, Pickard was reported missing at about 9 p.m. and had been last seen on foot wearing only black boxer shorts.

Even as time passed and the clock ticked closer to Pickard being lost and on his own for nearly a full day, Breeden said the search for Pickard never let up.

"We didn't lose hope," Breeden said. "But we always have concerns, because the amount of time and the terrain."

When asked about the massive effort that went into finding Pickard, Breeden said that he was a priority because of his age and medical condition, but that "it's nothing we wouldn't do for any citizen of Sumter County."

Speaking to reporters Tuesday evening, Breeden thanked the hundreds of people who helped bring the search to a happy conclusion.

"This is the best outcome," he said. "It was amazing."