On Monday evening, October 6, at approximately 8:24 p.m., the Orangetown Police Department responded to a report of a missing 5-year-old child with autism in the area of White Avenue in South Nyack. The child had reportedly wandered away from the backyard of a residence and was unable to be located by family members.
Officers immediately initiated a large-scale search effort, joined by multiple local and regional agencies including the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department Patrol Division, K9 Unit, Aviation Unit, Marine Unit, Communications Division, and BCI Unit. Additional assistance was provided by the Clarkstown Police Department’s Patrol and Drone Units, the Piermont Police Department, the New York State Police, the Westchester County Police K9 Unit, the Nyack Community Ambulance Corps, Rockland County Paramedics, and members of the Nyack community.
After several hours of systematic searching, the 5-year-old was safely located in a treehouse in the backyard of a nearby Nyack home. The Orangetown Police Department expressed gratitude to all agencies and community members whose cooperation and swift response led to the child being safely reunited with his family.