Clock: Police save autistic child from water

Prince George's County, Md. – – After a boy hiked from his house, the police could find him on the banks of a large water and reunited him with his family.

What we know:

An eight-year-old child in the autism spectrum was missing at around 11:00 p.m. on a cold night.

The boy had hiked from his house in Upper Marlboro when his family called for help the police department of Prince George.

“When you hear a call about a missing child that my heart sinks, I have to get out quickly,” said Ret. Tactical air officer Chris Elrod.

Two officers of special surgery, K9, corporals Mason and Carter, searched for the boy and called in the lifting step and their flight crew to the region.

The helicopter crew discovered someone on the banks of a large water, who seemed to be partially submerged.

“I saw that he was partially immersed in the lake and I could see in the picture of his shoulders to his head that it was the only one that really radiated so that the body lost my body, so I knew that we had to bring an officer to him to get him out of the water quickly and to warm it medically,” said Elrod.

The crew alerted the K9 officers on the ground that ran to the waterline.

The officials found the child cold and wet, but otherwise intact. They brought him home to his relieved family.

“I thought because he was in the spectrum that he had drowned in the water and something terrible had happened to him and that I would not see him again,” said mother Fatmata Zine. “Bravo to the PG County police authority. You did a very wonderful job and I like how you recognize children in the spectrum, and I like how they went over it. He was found in twenty minutes. It was a big win.”