MERRIMAC, MA — A missing 8-year-old boy with autism was found unharmed in woods near a swamp on Oct. 23 after a search involving multiple law enforcement agencies.
K9 Officer John Pimentel of the Massachusetts Middlesex Sheriff’s Office responded to a call from the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council to assist in the search.
Upon arrival at the staging area, Pimentel was informed the child had previously been found in woods near his home during an earlier incident.
A drone spotted the child in a section of woods near a swamp after officers arrived at the child’s home.
Pimentel established a search start point and entered the woods with a K9 officer from the Wakefield Police Department.
The Wakefield K9 alerted to a change in scent, guiding officers toward the swamp area where they located the child.
The officers called out to the boy and made their way to him.
They walked the child out of the woods and reunited him with his family.
Pimentel was later recognized as the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office Employee of the Month for October.
