Amber Alert Cancelled, 17-Year-Old Autistic Boy Found Safe
MADISON HEIGHTS (WWJ) - Authorities say 17-year-old autistic boy who was reported missing early Wednesday morning has been found safe.
An Amber Alert was issued for Dion Gardner, who wandered away from the Meijer on 13 Mile Road, between Dequindre and John R Roads in Madison Heights, around 12 a.m.
"We was at Meijer shopping and he wanted a particular item," Peyton Roads, Gardner's stepfather, told WWJ's Ron Dewey. "I told him we couldn't have that item and he got upset and set the item down and started running. He ran outside and me and my son, we chased him and he began to run toward the dark shadowy trees in the back."
Officials were especially worried because Gardner is autistic with very limited verbal ability and limited mental capacity.
Just before 6:30 a.m., the teen was reunited with his family. According to reports, Gardner's family found him walking along a street less than a mile from where he was last seen.