Deputies responded to an area children’s home at 3 am after a report that a non-verbal 17-year-old had disappeared. Employees searched for the boy for about an hour before calling in law enforcement.
When officers arrived, they learned the boy had crawled out of his window and taken off barefoot in the snow. The staff said they’d waited an hour due to their protocols.
Once officers and EMS arrived, they checked several places near the Pedro facility and found the boy in a building behind the staff house. Officers explained to employees that, especially in cold weather conditions, law enforcement, EMS, and the fire department should always be contacted first thing.
EMS checked out the child, and he seemed to be okay.