Young Heart Patient Allegedly Taken By SF Father From Mo. Hospital
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (CBS) -- Authorities are desperately searching for an ailing 5-year-old boy who is next in line for a heart transplant after his father, from San Francisco, allegedly took him from a St. Louis hospital.
An Amber Alert was issued after St. Louis police said Porter Stone was taken from St. Louis Children's Hospital on Tuesday afternoon by his father, Jeffery Stone, 33.
The boy had been discharged from the hospital. CBS affiliate KMOV-TV talked to the boy's uncle, who said Jeffery Stone had taken the boy to the pharmacy to check on his prescriptions.
"The father called the child's mother, who was also at the hospital, stating that he was leaving with the child," according to a news release from St. Louis police. "The child is in need of medical treatment as he is next in line to receive a heart transplant."
The boy had a backpack with medical equipment. He reportedly was still hooked up to an IV machine and didn't have his needed prescriptions.
The boy had flown earlier this week from Kansas City to St. Louis to wait for a heart transplant.
Porter Stone is nearly 4' tall and weighs 44 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray T-shirt, black and white plaid shorts and Spider Man tennis shoes.
Jeffery Stone is 6'6" tall and weighs 230 pounds. He has a shaved head and was last seen wearing a gray shirt, black shorts and a San Francisco Giants baseball cap. He was also carrying a Nike backpack.
They were seen leaving the hospital in a silver four-door Toyota Corolla with California license plate no. 6BMU445. Police said Jeffery Stone's mother, identified as Rhonda Marie Matthews, is also traveling with them.
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