A 4-year-old boy with autism who recently wandered from his Catawissa home was found unharmed about two hours later after a multi-agency search. Agencies were notified shortly before 9 p.m. June 17 that the boy was missing from a home in the 4000 block of Courtney Drive, and he was found about a quarter mile away, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Grant Bissell said.
“After about two hours of people searching, one of our deputies found the child in an area near Apke Lane,” Bissell said. “The deputy spoke with the child’s father and learned the child was drawn to bodies of water. With that information, he headed to a large pond in the area to search.
“Nothing was found at the first pond, so the deputy headed to another one near Apke Lane. As he moved toward the pond, he checked with neighbors and got permission to search outbuildings. While searching the area, he heard a noise by a tree. He followed the sound and located the child.”
EMS personnel checked out the boy and found no injuries, so he was returned to his parents, Bissell reported.
“(The child) had somehow gotten out of his back yard,” Cedar Hill Assistant Fire Chief David Jones said. “He’d been missing for 30 minutes when they called.”
Cedar Hill Fire Protection District personnel participated in the search, as did the High Ridge and Rock Community fire protection districts, which brought their drones to help. Big River Ambulance also assisted.