Teen with Autism Rescued from Marsh After Running Away from Hiking Group
(OCSO, Aug. 22, 2024)
Commerce Township, MI- A 14-year-old Farmington Hills teenager with autism who was missing for three hours was rescued Tuesday from a marshy area of Proud Lake by Oakland County Sheriff’s Office deputies.
Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the boy was part of a church group camping at the Proud Lake State Recreation Area in Commerce Township. He was hiking on a trail with other members of the group and a chaperon when the boy ran away about 4 p.m. Tuesday.
He ran into a wooded area and disappeared from the group. “Thanks to the amazing work of the search and rescue team, including the invaluable assistance of the helicopter, which was able to find him and guide in rescuers, we were able to save this young man from a dangerous situation that very well may have been our 12th drowning of the year,” Bouchard said.
The Sheriff’s Office was alerted to the emergency by a 911 call. The Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team (SSRT) was sent to the area along with search teams from the state Department of Natural Resources and the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority Police Department.
The Sheriff’s Office also sent its aviation and drone units to assist in the search.
Searchers were told the missing boy was attracted to the water. An extensive search of the area was conducted on foot, with a K-9 unit, drone and helicopter. Shortly after 7 p.m., the boy was seen in the marshy area by helicopter pilots, more than a mile from the trail. The boy, who is 5-feet 7-inches tall and weighs 100 pounds, was unable to free himself. The marsh was in an unimproved area of the park with no trail or road access.
A SSRT boat was sent to the location where deputies safely retrieved the boy from thick, waist- deep mud, water and dense vegetation. The boy was taken to a nearby hospital by Commerce Township Fire Department paramedics where he was treated and released for minor scrapes and bruises.
