OKC police credit community with helping to reunite missing child with parents

A missing child at the center of a search was reunited with his panic-stricken parents after he disappeared into a wooded area near N.W. Expressway and N. Piedmont Road.

Police credited the community with helping to bring him home. After hours of anguish, neighbors cheered and clapped as a mother and son shared a tearful embrace.

Monday morning, law enforcement responded to the family's neighborhood playground in northwest Oklahoma City, where a search for the child was underway.

“Officers respond and make contact with the family that says their ten-year-old is missing; and they've reportedly found the child’s phone, and the ten-year-old talked about being in the creek and hunting for bugs,” said Cpt. Benjamin Weir, Oklahoma City Police Department.

“The way I looked at it is, what if this were my kid? I have a 10-year-old autistic daughter and we’ve already warned her of the dangers of the creek, but children will be children,” said neighbor Derek Lawrence.   

Lawrence didn't hesitate to help and began searching through his camera footage. Video showed the child walking past his home and changing clothes before disappearing into the wooded creek. Tracking dogs, drones, a helicopter, and the FBI were all brought in—as neighbors searched on foot. The child was located four and a half hours later, as a larger command post was being assembled. He was unharmed and covered in mud.

Police said a civilian with a drone, who worked in tandem with OCPD's drone, helped to get eyes on a large area. Using his drone, the civilian located the child and directed police to his location, which was nearly three miles into the creek