A 16-year-old, who is developmentally disabled, was reunited with his family after going missing near a forest area in Los Angeles County.
During a Sunday morning hike with his mother and sister, the teen abruptly bolted into the woods near Crescenta Valley Park, located a bit south of Angeles National Forest. Resultingly, the family contacted local authorities to help search for the lost teen. They were ultimately able to locate him by following the sound of clicking rocks.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) spoke on the matter in a Facebook post.
“On Sunday at approximately 11:51 a.m., the Montrose Search and Rescue Team was paged out to assist the LASD Parks Bureau and Glendale Police Department regarding a missing teenager,” the LASD wrote.
After about 6 hours of looking, the missing teen was tracked down.
“Several hours into the search, a Montrose team member heard what sounded like the clinking of rocks together. Remembering that the missing person had an interest in playing with rocks, he investigated further,” the post continued. “Their efforts revealed the missing person was in the brush 400 feet over the side of the fire road.”
“Our team member went down the mountainside and made contact with the missing person,” the LASD added. “After gaining the trust of the missing person, he led him up the mountain to safety. Once at the top, he was treated by paramedics and released to his family.”
A nonverbal teen went missing in the woods. Rescuers found him after hearing clinking rocks. https://t.co/Wu1EBJ88eU
— MSN (@MSN) April 7, 2022
Steve Goldsworthy, a deputy who helped search for the teen, also reflected on the situation.
“His mom had told me he had this affection for rocks,” he recalled. “We were hollering down in this canyon, and I heard something come back. It sounded like somebody taking two rocks and putting them together.”
Eventually, Goldsworthy found the teen “sitting under an oak tree.” He also noted that, after rescuing the 16-year-old, he ultimately “ended up giving [Goldsworthy] a fist bump.”
“Our department was thrilled this incident had a happy ending,” the LASD noted.
