March 12, 2017 at 8:52 p.m.
Missing boy found
Ten-year-old autistic child was in neighbor's barn
Missing boy found
Copyright 2017, The Commercial Review
All Rights Reserved
A 10-year-old boy rural Jay County boy was found safe Sunday after being missing for more than an hour and a half.
Christopher Garringer, 3072 S. Como Road, was found in a neighbor’s barn and returned to his home at 1:39 p.m.
He was uninjured.
Tears of relief streamed from his father Greg’s eyes when he heard over a police radio that his son had been found. Even more came as he embraced Christopher when the boy arrived at home.
“It’s total elation,” said Greg, who stayed near the house while his wife, Laura, was out searching for their son. “But that doesn’t overcome the fear of, you know, ‘When’s it going to happen again?’”
Christopher, who has autism and has left home without permission or supervision before, had apparently gone out of a second-story window, climbed down and wandered off, his father said. A window was found partially open, and an awning on the northwest side of the house slopes down closer to the ground than the rest of the roof.
Doug Hudson, who lives a few miles away on Division Road, spotted the boy near the home at 6120 W. 300 South.
“I just knew that it was him when I saw him,” said Hudson, noting that his daughter, who was also autistic, died at the age of 24 in 2013. “You just know what an autistic child looks like when you had one.”
When Hudson pulled in the driveway, Christopher headed for the barn. Hudson followed, and found the boy looking at fishing poles.
Autistic children tend to fixate on certain items or interests, and Greg said for his son those are four wheelers, water and fishing poles.
Just a day earlier, Christopher, a General Shanks Elementary School student, had left home and walked north to a neighbor’s house, hoping to be able to ride four-wheelers. Greg said alarms had been installed on the doors of the family’s home following that incident.
When the boy went missing again Sunday, Greg said he immediately called police.
Ray Newton of Jay County Sheriff’s Office was first on the scene, and Portland and Redkey fire departments were called at 12:51 p.m. An ever-growing group that included firefighters from Portland and Redkey, Dunkirk and Redkey police, Jay Emergency Medical Services and volunteers searched the area around Como Road north of Indiana 67.
Hudson had not gone to the Garringer house, but rather saw a post about the missing boy on social media and headed out the door.
“I just felt the need to go look for him,” he said. “I just saw it on Facebook.
“I would have wanted somebody to look for my daughter if she had been out missing too.”
Lutheran Air Medical Helicopter also flew over the area in an effort to help locate the boy, who had been wearing a black coat with green stripes, boots, and gray sweatpants when he was last seen.
Because of Christopher’s interest in water, there was fear that he may have headed off to explore Brooks Creek, which is about a quarter mile the south of his home.
“I was excited, because I was at my wits’ end,” said Greg of having so many turn out to search for his son. “I didn’t know where else to go.”
All Rights Reserved
A 10-year-old boy rural Jay County boy was found safe Sunday after being missing for more than an hour and a half.
Christopher Garringer, 3072 S. Como Road, was found in a neighbor’s barn and returned to his home at 1:39 p.m.
He was uninjured.
Tears of relief streamed from his father Greg’s eyes when he heard over a police radio that his son had been found. Even more came as he embraced Christopher when the boy arrived at home.
“It’s total elation,” said Greg, who stayed near the house while his wife, Laura, was out searching for their son. “But that doesn’t overcome the fear of, you know, ‘When’s it going to happen again?’”
Christopher, who has autism and has left home without permission or supervision before, had apparently gone out of a second-story window, climbed down and wandered off, his father said. A window was found partially open, and an awning on the northwest side of the house slopes down closer to the ground than the rest of the roof.
Doug Hudson, who lives a few miles away on Division Road, spotted the boy near the home at 6120 W. 300 South.
“I just knew that it was him when I saw him,” said Hudson, noting that his daughter, who was also autistic, died at the age of 24 in 2013. “You just know what an autistic child looks like when you had one.”
When Hudson pulled in the driveway, Christopher headed for the barn. Hudson followed, and found the boy looking at fishing poles.
Autistic children tend to fixate on certain items or interests, and Greg said for his son those are four wheelers, water and fishing poles.
Just a day earlier, Christopher, a General Shanks Elementary School student, had left home and walked north to a neighbor’s house, hoping to be able to ride four-wheelers. Greg said alarms had been installed on the doors of the family’s home following that incident.
When the boy went missing again Sunday, Greg said he immediately called police.
Ray Newton of Jay County Sheriff’s Office was first on the scene, and Portland and Redkey fire departments were called at 12:51 p.m. An ever-growing group that included firefighters from Portland and Redkey, Dunkirk and Redkey police, Jay Emergency Medical Services and volunteers searched the area around Como Road north of Indiana 67.
Hudson had not gone to the Garringer house, but rather saw a post about the missing boy on social media and headed out the door.
“I just felt the need to go look for him,” he said. “I just saw it on Facebook.
“I would have wanted somebody to look for my daughter if she had been out missing too.”
Lutheran Air Medical Helicopter also flew over the area in an effort to help locate the boy, who had been wearing a black coat with green stripes, boots, and gray sweatpants when he was last seen.
Because of Christopher’s interest in water, there was fear that he may have headed off to explore Brooks Creek, which is about a quarter mile the south of his home.
“I was excited, because I was at my wits’ end,” said Greg of having so many turn out to search for his son. “I didn’t know where else to go.”
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