Deputy Wes Brough was dispatched to a Florida home after a 5-year-old boy was reported missing. When he found him in a pond, he was hailed as a hero.
Watch: Police in Florida save missing child from drowning
Sheriff’s officials rescued a missing five-year-old boy who they found hanging from a log at a pond near his home in Volusia County, Florida.
Not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes they wear blue uniforms with a gold badge.
On Tuesday around 7:30 p.m., a father called authorities after his five-year-old son escaped from his Deltona home through a second-story door and set off an alarm.
Deltona, Florida, is located about 28 miles south of Daytona Beach.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said that after checking the area, the family decided to call 911..
When officers arrived at the home, they began searching the perimeter and interior of the home. The family told officers that the 5-year-old boy was an autistic child and that he was “attracted to water,” according to the sheriff’s office.
The video shows: Dramatic rescue of crying Kansas toddler from bottom of narrow 10-foot-deep hole
“At the right place at the right time”: Boy clings to deputy during rescue after search operation
The family told officers they took several steps to secure the home, including a door alarm, so they knew the 5-year-old boy had left the house.
The sheriff’s office said officers then began searching bodies of water to find the boy. Some officers went to a pond a few blocks from the family’s home.
At 7:48 p.m., Deputy Wes Brough of the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office heard a voice and spotted the 5-year-old in the water, holding onto a log, the sheriff’s office said.
Body camera footage shows Deputy Brough jumping into the pond and pulling the boy to safety. The boy clings to Deputy Brough as the two exit the pond.
The 5-year-old boy was subsequently medically examined and returned to his family.
“I thanked God so much for, first of all, putting me in that position, and secondly, that the child was above water and breathing well when we got there,” Brough told CBS News. “Thank God for putting me in the right place at the right time.”
The officers involved in the search had received training on autism awareness
In a Facebook post, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said Deputy Brough and many other deputies attended autism awareness training.
The goal of the training was to help officers “be prepared for a wide range of calls involving people with autism, including missing children.”
USA TODAY has reached out to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
Dangers of a “kidnapping”
Many children with autism wander into the disabled community, which is called “runaway.”
According to a 2016 study, nearly half of all children and adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder have it. A review of more than 800 abduction cases between 2011 and 2016 by the National Autism Association found that nearly a third of them were either fatal or required medical attention, while another 38% were the result of near misses involving water, traffic or another life-threatening situation.
Research shows that some people with autism run away because they are overwhelmed by sensory stimuli that are too loud or bright, but the most common trigger is a desire to get closer to an object that catches their attention or curiosity.
Contributor: Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Daytona Beach News-Journal
Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on USA TODAY’s National Trending Team. Ahjané covers breaking news, auto recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.
