Just after 8:15 a.m. on September 10, 2017, San Angelo Police Dispatch received a call about an unattended child who was seen walking in the street near the 700 block of North Van Buren Street.
Police responded and located the boy, who was barefoot and only wearing pajama pants. The boy was shivering and unable to communicate his name, address, or the names of his parents.
Responding Officers issued a Nixle Community Alert along with the boy’s picture in hopes that the alert would lead to reuniting the boy with family.
Within minutes, a Nixle subscriber read the alert, immediately recognized the boy as her neighbor and ran to alert the boy’s parents; who had only just realized he was missing.
Because of the woman’s swift response, San Angelo Police were quickly able to identify the 12-year-old Autistic boy.
The CDC estimates that 1 in 68 children have been identified with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Even more staggering is that approximately half of all children with autism engage in wandering behavior according to a research project completed by the Interactive Autism Network (IAN). Many of the children that wander are not able to communicate their basic needs to a person that finds them, including their name. In today’s world of technology, Nixle can be a valuable tool when reaching out to the community and creating community engagement.
To become a Nixle community partner, register for a free account at https://local.nixle.com/register/ or text your zip code to 888777.
For resources on how to prevent Autism Spectrum Disorder wandering, visit:
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