Polk County Sheriff’s Office:
In the evening of Saturday, May 17th, PCSO deputies were alerted to a missing 14-year old boy with non-verbal autism.
The boy and his father had been enjoying a nice father-son time at Se7en Wetlands Trail off of West Carter Road in Lakeland, when things took a scary turn.
As the pair were walking on a trail, the father stopped to take a photograph of a rare bird. While doing so, his son wandered off in an unknown direction.
His father soon realized that his son was gone, and he began looking for him, but darkness settled in quickly.
After the PCSO was contacted, deputies arrived on scene, to include Drone, K-9, and Aviation.
Deputies made contact with the boy’s father at about 9:45 pm, and set up a perimeter around the property.
At approximately 11:09 pm, the Aviation Unit located the boy running along a canal; they also spotted some dangerous wildlife nearby, so they landed the helicopter in a clearing to keep the boy from encountering the wildlife.
The boy was successfully redirected toward the deputies on the ground and at about 11:31 pm, deputies got the boy safely into their custody.
The boy suffered no injuries, and was reunited his father.
That’s what we call an Outstanding Outcome!
