An Amber Alert was issued Friday morning for an 8-year-old autistic boy who went missing from Greenacres Thursday afternoon.
Jared McGuire was last seen in the area of Forest Hill Boulevard and Jog Road. He was seen being forced into a dirty white Chevy van, according to a police report.
Authorities describe the abductor as a gray-haired white man in his 50s sporting a goatee, long flannel shirt, blue jeans, tennis shoes and a black baseball cap.
''The boy is autistic and can't speak,'' said Bill Stewart, one of many call takers at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
http://www.autismnews.co.uk/modules.php?...le&sid=153
oh dear me, how awful. :shock: :cry:
Missing autistic boy's body found in Fla.
Associated Press
Fri, Feb. 24, 2006
GREENACRES, Fla. - An 8-year-old autistic boy was found dead in a pond near from his home Friday, one day after police launched a search for the boy who a witness reported seeing kidnapped.
"We are still looking into the abduction angle," Greenacres Police Lt. Michael Porath said. But he said that because the boy was found only about 100 feet from his home, a kidnapping appears less likely.
An autopsy was planned Friday to determine the cause of death, Porath said. Authorities said Jared McGuire had severe autism and took medication.
Jared's mother told authorities she had last seen him sleeping on the couch Thursday afternoon. Police scoured the area with officers, dogs and a helicopter before the body was spotted Friday.
Greenacres is 8 miles south of West Palm Beach.
ENDS
Tragic end to his life. :cry:
I wonder what the best solution is for autistic children and adults who wander.
They are extremely vunerable to danger: traffic, unsupervised pools, the elements, and villians like the suspect in this case. I hope the case is solved and the villian put in jail.
Backyard swimming pools are usually required to have large fences and locked gates enclosing them. I guess someone with an autistic family member might want to put an audible alarm on their door and maybe fence around their yard. I still would not want to have a child play outside in the yard alone, not safe.
Autopsy says boy drowned
No signs of trauma reported in death of autistic child, 8
By Jerome Burdi
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
February 26 2006
Preliminary autopsy results determined that Jared McGuire, 8, whose body was found Friday in a pond near his Greenacres home, drowned, police said Saturday.
There were no signs that indicated trauma or foul play in the autistic boy's death, but the medical examiner's final report will not be released for at least six weeks, police said.
Jared's mother reported him missing at 3 p.m. Thursday from his home in The Pines townhouse community south of Forest Hill Boulevard off Jog Road. He was last seen sleeping on the couch about 1:30 p.m., police said.
After police got a tip that Jared was abducted, an Amber Alert was issued. It was canceled Friday morning upon the discovery of his body in a retention pond about 200 feet from his home.
"Nothing appears to be related to the initial call of the abduction," said Lt. Michael Porath of Greenacres police.
Police still are investigating why the call was made but now are viewing the death as a drowning and looking into whether it was accidental or if there was any neglect on behalf of Jared's mother, Martha McGuire, 42, who was watching him and his 10-year-old brother Thursday afternoon.
ENDS