MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Residents in Madison Heights and law enforcement officials conducted a tense search for hours on Sunday night, looking for a 6-year-old boy with autism who is non-verbal.
Watch Simon Shaykhet's video report:
The boy wandered away from his Madison Heights home, and an army of volunteers and officials searched in the bitter cold. Miraculously, a neighbor found the child safe at his home, and now, he's reflecting on the incredible discovery.
“Even while we're driving, I'm looking for what they described in the Amber Alert — the blue coat, all of those things," Labron Brinkley said. He told me he's still processing the discovery.
"He was sitting in this bath, filled with water with clothes on," Brinkley said. "I noticed he didn’t look at me or anything, so I stood here and I saw him playing and was like, 'oh.'"
See the reel from Simon Shaykhet below:
He said the non-verbal child who police and others were searching for walked in through a sliding back door that was temporarily unlatched. The boy wandered away from his home, which was not far away.
Amid the bitter cold and massive effort to locate him, Brinkley told me the boy spent hours playing with his kids' toys, as well as in a tub full of water, and left other items like kitchenware scattered throughout the house.
"There’s so many times where you see stories like this and the outcome is not what we desire. But this outcome — this is one we desire. He's not far from home. He's literally a 30-second walk from home," he said.
WEB EXTRA: When do officials issue Amber Alerts?
Just before midnight, Brinkley said he returned home from visiting family and attending church, and he'd received alerts on his phone about the missing boy. He never imagined he'd be the one to find him.
"We ran out and I waved down a police (officer). We walked in together. I wanted to walk in together because I didn’t know what to expect. It doesn’t look like he left out of the water," Brinkley said.
Madison Heights Police Lt. Gary Strongarone said he felt relieved when he heard the child was found safe.
"Relief — literally a sign of relief," Strongarone said. "It’s great that the community came together as much as they did."
The boy's parents told me they are meeting with Children's Protective Services as part of an evaluation, and he's been checked out to ensure he's in good condition.
Brinkley said he and his wife are also turning over some clothing that belonged to the boy that was left in their home.
