A community is releasing a sigh of relief after a girl with Autism, who had gone missing for more than five hours, was located inside of her apartment complex on Wednesday.
Early in the afternoon, authorities say 9-year-old Monique Patrice Woods was reported missing from Woodland Garden Apartments in Royal Oak by a caregiver.
The girl, who is nonverbal and described as having the mental capacity of a 2-year-old, was last seen at 4820 Woodland Ave.
Officers from several jurisdictions, including members from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, gathered to form a search party for the child.
She was eventually located inside of an empty apartment just a few floors above where she was reported missing.
No details have been released yet on how the child was able to enter the apartment, or if someone currently lives inside of the apartment.
According to Mike Frazier, Royal Oak deputy chief, a member of the search party heard a noise coming from an apartment and noticed the girl hanging from the window. Officers attempted to search that same apartment earlier in the day, however, no one was home at the time. After the girl was seen hanging from the window, police forced entry into the apartment, recovering the girl.
Woods, who family affectionately refer to as "Mo Mo", has been reunited with her mother.
"It was a true community effort," Fraizer said.
Residents assisted by canvassing the area on foot and in cars, searching vehicles, trees, bushes and every apartment in the area in order to locate the girl, he said.
Police say the girl is fine, but because she was alone in the apartment for so long they will have her evaluated to ensure there was no harm.
Officers are continuing to investigate the incident.
