11-Year-Old Boy with Autism Found Wandering on Freeway After Vanishing from Supermarket
An 11-year-old boy with autism went missing from a Santee superstore in San Diego was found wandering along a freeway, according to authorities.
On March 9, just before 4:30 p.m., dispatchers received a report of a nonverbal child who ran away from his family at a supermarket in the 9600 block of Mission Gorge Road, leaving relatives unable to find him, the San Diego County Sheriff's Office said in a press release Monday, April 28.
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The minor's name was not publicly disclosed.
A Sheriff's ASTREA helicopter assisted with the search, making announcements near the area the child was last seen in.
Off-duty Sheriff's Dispatcher Shiloh Corbet was driving home from her job at approximately 5:15 p.m., when she saw a boy matching the missing child's description running along Mast Boulevard, near the State Route 52 on-ramp.
Corbet sprang into action, contacting the Sheriff's Communications Center immediately.
While waiting on the phone, she followed the child, who was running up the freeway on-ramp and crossing lanes.
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'Knowing the child's name from the information given to her by the Sheriff's Communications Center, Corbet called to him to stay where he was at for his own safety," the sheriff's office said. "The entire time, she was relaying information on the phone to an on-duty Sheriff's Dispatcher Supervisor, who was directing deputies to the scene."
When deputies arrived, they attempted to contact the 11-year-old from below an overpass, but he moved away from them.
'The child hopped the guardrail and started running along the busy freeway,' the sheriff's office said. 'Without hesitation, Deputies Cody Green and Michael Moser jumped over the guardrail and raced to catch up to the child. The deputies were able to get him off the freeway.'
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He was reunited with his family, and no one was hurt during the incident.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Office thanked Corbet, Deputies Cody Green and Michael Moser, as well as the Santee Sheriff's Station, Lakeside Sheriff's Substation, Sheriff's ASTREA, Sheriff's Communications Center and several Good Samaritans for working together to find the missing child and getting him to safety.
They also highlighted April as Autism Acceptance Month, sharing resources for those who might need them.
Persons caring for individuals diagnosed with dementia or other developmental disabilities, as well as those who have been diagnosed, can access the sheriff's office's free Take Me Home Program for assistance if they are lost or have wandered away.
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