Heartwarming moment mom finds out missing autistic son is FOUND alive while at sheriff’s press conference
A Florida mother learned that her missing 16-year-old son, who has autism and schizophrenia, had been found safe just as she was pleading for public help at a sheriff's press conference. Benjamin Adcock had gone missing from his family's home in St Augustine on Saturday, prompting a two-day search by the St Johns County Sheriff's Office involving K9 units, drones, helicopters and volunteer search teams. The emotional moment, in which Sheriff Robert Hardwick was interrupted mid-briefing with the news and turned to comfort the boy's mother, has since drawn widespread attention.
Adcock was located on Monday after a member of the public recognised him from photos shared on social media and alerted the sheriff's office. He was found in good health and is receiving medical care, though authorities are still trying to establish his whereabouts during the roughly two days he was missing, between 12 and 14 September; he was last seen crossing a road near an Epic Theater plaza around midday on the Saturday. The sheriff praised the vigilance of the citizen who came forward and said he would help arrange a tracking device for the teenager going forward.
- Missing autistic Florida teen found safe mid-press conference
- Public tip-off from social media led police to Benjamin Adcock
- He's healthy; police still probing his two missing days