Mocobizscene – New Mexico State Police have reported that a teenager with autism, who went missing from his home in southern Arizona, has been located in New Mexico, approximately 200 miles away.
On Tuesday, a 13-year-old boy showed up at a Walmart in Deming after being reported missing the night before from his family’s home in Tucson. The authorities in New Mexico took to social media, posting a picture of the young man, in efforts to seek the public’s assistance in identifying him.
According to the New Mexico State Police, it didn’t take long for someone to recognize the teenager who had been reported missing. This recognition came from an earlier post made by the Tucson Police Department. Thankfully, on Wednesday, it was confirmed that the teen had been reunited with his family and was back home, safe and sound.
New Mexico State Police expressed their gratitude to all those who contributed to making this achievement possible through their support, engagement, and efforts in spreading the word.
The family expressed their gratitude for the police and the community through social media. They remain puzzled about how the teenager managed to reach Deming.
“My mom woke up to find that he was no longer in the house. The front door was unlocked, and he had simply vanished,” recounted the boy’s brother, Mikel Desmond, in an interview with Albuquerque television station KRQE.
The family reached out to the police, scoured the nearby areas, and crafted a missing person flyer that they shared on the internet. As time went by, Desmond admitted that he began to despair, fearing that his brother would never be found. He emphasized that even if someone had provided the teenager with a phone and instructed him to call home, it would have been impossible for him to do so since he is unable to communicate verbally.
On Tuesday evening, the family received a call from authorities in New Mexico, informing them that the boy had been evaluated at a nearby hospital.
Desmond recounted how his brother found himself at Walmart, desperately attempting to purchase food and drinks without any money. Faced with this predicament, the teenager sought refuge in the store’s bathroom until he was eventually discovered by law enforcement officers.
Desmond marveled at the speed at which news travels through social media. He expressed his surprise at the overwhelming number of people who reached out to offer assistance and inquire about ways they could help.
Desmond and his mother embarked on a heartwarming journey to New Mexico in response to the call they received. They devoted six hours of travel time, three hours each way, to bring the boy back home with them. Their joyous reunion at the hospital in Deming was captured in a heartwarming photograph that they shared.
Tucson police are currently conducting an investigation into the travels of the boy.
