Community Corner

Missing 14-Year-Old Autistic Boy Found Sleeping in Neighbor's Car After Late-Night Search (VIDEO)

A 14-year-old autistic boy who went missing Thursday night was found early Friday morning after a large search, which included a police helicopter that did circles around Davis.

UPDATE: A 14-year-old autistic boy who went missing Thursday night was found early Friday morning after a large search that involved a police helicopter, the fire department and community members. (Original story below).  

"Child has been located and is safe!" tweeted the Davis Police Department at 1:50 a.m. Friday morning. Ten minutes later they tweeted, "Thanks to all the neighbors who came out and helped us search! Davis is a great community!!"

The boy, Anthony Budweiser, had gone missing several hours earlier, according to members of a search crew near Community Park. No foul play was suspected.

Find out what's happening in Daviswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

POLICE STATEMENT:  "The Police Department began searching the area with the assistance of the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office, the UC Davis Police Department, UC Davis student volunteers, and the CHP. A CHP helicopter was used to check open fields and surrounding areas. At approximately 1:45 in the morning, the 14 year old was found asleep in a neighbor’s vehicle  and unharmed not far from his home." (10/19 9:52 a.m.)

Here's the story we published after the child went missing. We'll update with details Friday. If you'd like to share any information about the search effort, feel free to comment below or contact me at justin.cox@patch.com or 530-262-8183. 

Find out what's happening in Daviswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

ORIGINAL STORY: A helicopter made several loops around Davis in search of a missing 14-year-old autistic boy around 11:45 p.m. on Thursday. 

The helicopter had a searchlight and a loudspeaker, which you can hear (and somewhat see) in this video. Here are the details we can gather: 

  • The boy is autistic, non-verbal
  • White male
  • Weighs 140 pound
  • 5-feet, 4-inches tall
  • Blonde hair
  • Brown shirt
  • Blue jeans

I went into Community Park as the helicopter passed and I chatted briefly with two police officers who were shining bright lights across the open grass. They said that the boy went missing Thursday, and they echoed what the helicopter loudspeaker said: Non-verbal autistic boy. Call police if you see him. 

Firefighters who were searching near Community Park said boy had been missing for about two hours as of 12:30 a.m. on Friday. He went missing in north Davis, they said, but authorities were expanding the search south. 

I contacted the Davis Police Department for formal comment and will update this story when they get back to me, which will likely be early Friday morning.

Did you hear the helicopter? Did we miss any details? If so, please add them to the comments below or add your own footage by clicking the upload button below the video. 

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