Found Deceased OH - Joshua Al-Lateef Jr, 6, Autistic, Non-Verbal, may not respond, last seen 5:30pm near home on Wyndtree Dr, West Chester, 20 Nov 2024

[tlcya]

Update, 3:20 p.m.: Nearly 24 hours after a 6-year-old boy went missing from his West Chester Township apartment, first responders and volunteers are still searching for him.

Officials said crews are still searching the area near the Lakefront apartment complex where Joshua Al-Lateef Jr. went missing, including fields and lakes.

As the snow cleared Thursday afternoon, a Butler County Sheriff's Office helicopter was also brought in to search for Joshua, though nothing has been found so far, according to police.
Search for missing West Chester boy ongoing nearly 24 hours after disappearance

Come on Josh, where are you sweetpea?

 

[tlcya]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1110055934047800

family expresses sincere appreciation for all the volunteers and officials who are searching for Joshua.

 

[TheMom77]

Hoping he is found safe soon…

 

[Deleted member 296739]

Hoping he is found safe soon…

Agreed

 

[abyquinn]

View attachment 546381

This summer, when the LEO saved that little lost child, literally pulled him out of a lake/pond. One of the articles commented when they get a missing autistic child, immediately teams head out to the local ponds, lakes, pools etc and wait there for the child to turn up. Seems to make sense since it seems 9 out of 10 of these kiddos are found in or near water.

 

[abyquinn]

Anyone within the search area who has a car on their property that they haven’t been in in the last 24 hours needs to check to see if little man is sacked out in it trying to get out of the cold.

 

[Mimimom]

It's hard to get my head around how many times this has happened recently. Is this just a blip, or is this a harbinger of things to continue on this path - where SO MANY similar aged nonverbal young boys with autism wander away from safety? Prayers this little one is miraculously found safe.

Are we seeing an incredible rise in nonverbal boys, or is this a huge rise in that population wandering away?

I think more are wandering away. Parents are busier, preoccupied and sometimes overwhelmed. Not blaming them, some kids with autism are runners, elopers and they are fast. You turn around and they disappear

 

[Megnut]

Why are these children drawn to water?

Because it's sparkly and moving and the danger doesn't probably register.

I can hear all the arguments against but I wish safety undervests with an air tag were a thing.

We lose too many littles.

Hoping he's one of the miracles.

JMO

 

[cuffem]

With seeing autistic children and dementia patients missing frequently, I wish we could chip or apple tag them in some way.
I know there might be some objection but these outcomes usually are not good and I can not think of a better way to keep them safe. MOO.

 

[cuffem]

Because it's sparkly and moving and the danger doesn't probably register.

I can hear all the arguments against but I wish safety undervests with an air tag were a thing.

We lose too many littles.

Hoping he's one of the miracles.

JMO

You beat me to it. Sorry, I posted without seeing your post. I agree!

 

[ErinC]

With seeing autistic children and dementia patients missing frequently, I wish we could chip or apple tag them in some way.
I know there might be some objection but these outcomes usually are not good and I can not think of a better way to keep them safe. MOO.

Just speaking as staff, in my state we staff cannot put such on them. Parents/guardians, however, are allowed to festoon them like a Christmas tree with AirTags or similar if they wish. Honestly, I'd really like to see that become more common. People argue against it for one reason and another, and I would rather any of those theoretical consequences than LE have to pull another child out of a pond. MOO OMO ETC

 

[iamshadow21]

Autistic children are drawn to water, yes, but I think it's a mistake to place that fascination outside the norm of human fascination.

How many of us watch the waves roll into the beach? A waterfall? A stream? A fountain? How many of us play sounds of rain or running water to focus, meditate, or sleep?

Being fascinated by water is human.

The danger lies when young children, whose understanding of danger is limited, whose sensory system responds positively to the sights, sounds, and sensations of water, are unsupervised with access to it.

MOO

 

[PommyMommy]

NOV 21, 2024

'There's no vision': Winter conditions hinder search efforts for missing 6-year-old boy

The body of the missing 6-year-old boy in West Chester has been found.

local12.com

There was a brief period earlier on Thursday where a helicopter could fly safely, but it's snowing once again...

Both the West Chester fire chief and police chief said that they're doubling down on places they've already looked, including the many retention ponds near Lakefront at West Chester Apartment Complex.

"All these retention ponds are very silty. They're murky. There's no vision. It's totally obscured. You cannot see your hand in front of your face." ...

 

[iamshadow21]

NOV 21, 2024

'There's no vision': Winter conditions hinder search efforts for missing 6-year-old boy

The body of the missing 6-year-old boy in West Chester has been found.

local12.com

There was a brief period earlier on Thursday where a helicopter could fly safely, but it's snowing once again...

Both the West Chester fire chief and police chief said that they're doubling down on places they've already looked, including the many retention ponds near Lakefront at West Chester Apartment Complex.

"All these retention ponds are very silty. They're murky. There's no vision. It's totally obscured. You cannot see your hand in front of your face." ...

If he's in there, they may not find him until decomposition causes him to float, then. Poor kid.

Either water or cold, I think this is a recovery.

MOO

 

[rosieone]

Sadly, he’s been found. Police: Body of missing 6-year-old West Chester boy found Thursday night

 

[azure]

Sadly, he’s been found. Police: Body of missing 6-year-old West Chester boy found Thursday night

"Police said Joshua was found dead in a nearby pond late Thursday night."

So sad but as many expected.

 

[PommyMommy]

Sadly, he’s been found. Police: Body of missing 6-year-old West Chester boy found Thursday night

...in a nearby pond. Heartbreaking.

 

[feels_close_to_home]

I had this typed well before it was public; am I allowed to post this prior to it being announced?
"Someone in a local nextdoor group posted one of the S&R groups found him deceased, trying to find a confirmation. ugh."

This would have been deleted if I posted it before MSM, even if it was verifiable on my end, correct?

 

[swanniee11]

Heartbreaking outcome. Prayers for Joshua and his family.

 

[maamager]

So heartbreaking to see. As a woman with autism (“high functioning” socially but I am super sensitive to my environments) and a chronic illness, I will tell you the 1st thing I go to when I need to regulate my emotions or if I’m not feeling well is my shower. The compression and resistance against my body gives me relief. It’s difficult to explain. I remember being a little girl and tethered to the family pool.

Poor sweet boy, my heart aches to know he was taken by what likely comforted him.