A 10-year-old autistic and non-verbal boy who went missing from his home in Fort Bragg late Wednesday afternoon was found alive early Thursday morning after a large-scale search and rescue operation, according to Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall. The boy was discovered huddled at the edge of the Pygmy Forest, having spent the night exposed to wet, foggy, and cold conditions.
Sheriff Kendall, who joined the search at 6 a.m. and spoke from his pickup truck, reported that over 60 people were involved in the effort, including Mendocino County Search and Rescue teams, community volunteers, and additional volunteers from Humboldt County.
The search was organized into grids, with many volunteers searching from vehicles near roads. The boy had last been seen in the 30500 block of Highway 20 in Fort Bragg.
According to Kendall, the boy lived in a home designed to keep him safely inside but escaped through a window. He was spotted playing outside at a neighbor's house, and when family members rushed out, he ran off before they could be reached.
The boy's mother, described as frantic throughout the night, joined the search early Thursday. After the boy was located alive, the immediate priority was transporting him to a hospital for evaluation for possible hypothermia.
Sheriff Kendall expressed relief, stating he had been praying all night for the child's safe return and hoped to finally get some sleep. The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office had issued an alert around 4:50 p.m.
on June 17 regarding the missing child.