A young autistic boy was rescued from the shallow waters of an estuary after going missing from his home in Glendene, in west Auckland, in a search captured in heartstopping aerial images.
His mother alerted police at about 12.30pm on Friday when she discovered he had disappeared from the family property. New Zealand Police began both ground and aerial searches after a witness reported seeing the child moving towards the water.
“A neighbour had seen the boy walking towards an area of bush which leads towards an estuary,” acting Inspector Nick Salter of Waitematā West Police said.
With high tide due in a matter of hours, officers treated the situation with urgency and sent Eagle to search from above.
“Time became critical, given high tide was coming in a few hours, so we had Eagle overhead searching the water.”
Only minutes later, the helicopter crew located the child in the water near mangroves, where he was playing, and passed his location to officers below. Staff then went in through the mangroves to reach him.
“Staff made their way through the mangroves to the boy. He was wet and muddy, but fortunately, he was safe and not in need of medical assistance,” Insp Salter said.
Police were able to return the boy safely to his family.
“Anyone who has kids will know how terrifying this would have been, and we are fortunate that this could be safely resolved so quickly.
“It’s a great result by all our staff that responded on Friday.”
The case recalls the disappearance of an Australian boy in September 2021. Anthony “AJ” Elfalak, who was three at the time, was found by PolAir after being missing for three days in the NSW Hunter region.
Helicopter footage showed AJ, who is autistic and non-verbal, kneeling in a riverbed and using his hands to scoop up water to drink. Police said the moment he was found was “emotional” and that rescuers would never forget it.
