08-08-2006, 03:14 PM
An 8-year-old autistic boy, wearing only underpants, was found scaling a staircase attached to a giant tank of asphalt over the weekend, River Rouge police said Monday.
The boy was found around noon Saturday on the staircase of a 42-foot-tall tank at the Michigan Marine Terminal on Marion Avenue, police said.
The terminal manager said Monday that the terminal was closed Saturday and was unaware of the incident.
The tank holds up to 50,000 barrels of asphalt, and the boy may have squeezed through a gap in the 8-foot tall fence, officials said.
He was covered with mosquito bites and extremely hungry, according to police reports filed in a child protective proceeding in Wayne County Family Court.
"He's something else, that little kid," River Rouge Police Sgt. Jeff Harris said.
The report said the boy was dirty and disheveled, and that he ate voraciously when officers gave him food. The report said officers also found him some clothing and that they had encountered him before and knew he was autistic.
The boy's mother saw the boy in the lobby of the police station about an hour after he was found. She was there to report her son missing. She told officers that she hadn't noticed when the boy walked away from the family in a city park.
Officers contacted the Child Protective Services Division of the Wayne County Department of Human Services. The boy was then placed in a foster home. The DHS filed a petition with the court Monday, seeking temporary jurisdiction of the boy.
A referee adjourned the case until Aug. 17 at the request of a DHS worker who wants to work with the family to see whether to withdraw the petition.
The mother and father, who are married but separated, have visitation rights to the boy. The mother continues to care for three other children ages 7-14.
From freep.com
The boy was found around noon Saturday on the staircase of a 42-foot-tall tank at the Michigan Marine Terminal on Marion Avenue, police said.
The terminal manager said Monday that the terminal was closed Saturday and was unaware of the incident.
The tank holds up to 50,000 barrels of asphalt, and the boy may have squeezed through a gap in the 8-foot tall fence, officials said.
He was covered with mosquito bites and extremely hungry, according to police reports filed in a child protective proceeding in Wayne County Family Court.
"He's something else, that little kid," River Rouge Police Sgt. Jeff Harris said.
The report said the boy was dirty and disheveled, and that he ate voraciously when officers gave him food. The report said officers also found him some clothing and that they had encountered him before and knew he was autistic.
The boy's mother saw the boy in the lobby of the police station about an hour after he was found. She was there to report her son missing. She told officers that she hadn't noticed when the boy walked away from the family in a city park.
Officers contacted the Child Protective Services Division of the Wayne County Department of Human Services. The boy was then placed in a foster home. The DHS filed a petition with the court Monday, seeking temporary jurisdiction of the boy.
A referee adjourned the case until Aug. 17 at the request of a DHS worker who wants to work with the family to see whether to withdraw the petition.
The mother and father, who are married but separated, have visitation rights to the boy. The mother continues to care for three other children ages 7-14.
From freep.com