Deputy finds missing 7-year-old with autism who ran into woods near Moss Point
A Jackson deputy early Tuesday evening found 7-year-old boy unharmed after going missing hours earlier when he ran away state Child Protection Service workers near Interstate 10 in Moss Point.
The child, who has autism, is non-verbal and ran away near Cracker Barrel and the Comfort Inn just off I-10 at Exit 69 around 12:30 p.m. The child’s name is Carson and he is from Leakesville. Police did not disclose his last name.
The two CPS workers told authorities they were in their vehicle in the hotel parking lot when the child bolted from their car and took off running.
The caretakers could not leave other children in the car unattended to chase the child, Moss Point Police Sgt. Lancen Shipman said. The workers called for help within 4 minutes, and Moss Point police officers got there 2 minutes later.
One of the caretakers found the child’s wet and muddy clothes around 3 p.m. at Sutton and Elder Ferry roads. The area is a short stretch of woods thick with underbrush between Cracker Barrel and Elder Ferry Road.
A deputy found the boy unharmed in the woods about 100 yard from where he ditched his clothes. He was still wearing a diaper. He is being taken to Singing River Hospital to be checked as precaution.
His grandmother told law enforcement officers he likes to run and hide.
Some people showed up to help search for Carson after seeing Facebook posts about him being missing.
Authorities encouraged residents to stay away because of search dogs in the woods and the Coast Guard s bringing in heat sensors to help find the child. The additional crowds in the woods could affect the use of the heat sensors.
Moss Point police and “several local agencies” were looking for Carson. Deputy Police Chief Jim Roe said authorities were searching everything south of I-10 between exits 68 and 69.
Drones and helicopters were searching from the air and there are rescue crows searching by boat in the nearby Pascagoula River.
In addition, authorities had search and rescue dogs on the ground.
The Pascagoula Police Department, Mississippi Highway Patrol, Gulf Coast Search and Rescue and Jackson County sheriff’s deputies joined in the search, along with police and firefighters from other agencies, Roe said.
Police asked that the public be on the lookout and call police if Carson is seen. He has brown hair, brown eyes and is about 4 feet tall.
“At this time, local resident assistance is not needed due to the child’s mental state,” Moss Point police said in a Facebook post. The first post about the missing boy was published about an hour ago.
This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 3:34 PM.
