KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Raytown police found a 4-year-old boy safe about five hours after he was reported missing.
Police said the boy, who goes by Joey, was reported missing just before 3 a.m. Friday morning. They believe he walked out a door of his home near 75th Street and Blue Ridge Boulevard.
He was wearing only a diaper.
Police said that no one has been arrested or charged in the incident.
Multiple agencies helped with the search for the boy, including Raytown Fire District, Kansas City, Missouri, police and Kansas City, Kansas, police.
Search dogs were also called out.
Joey was found at a nearby apartment complex around 8 a.m. Police said someone came outside to go to work and found the 4-year-old in their car. They called police.
Raytown Police Capt. Dyon Harper called this the best possible outcome for a situation such as this.
Police said they started their search at the boy's house and spread out through the neighborhood, then to the whole subdivision.
In an interview with 41 Action News, Harper had asked neighbors to keep their distance from the search area so they don't "muddy" the scent for the K9s.
He did, however, ask residents in the area to check their back yards, in sheds and under decks for Joey. He said to look anywhere a 4-year-old might go to get out of the rain.
One of the search dogs looking for 4-yr-old Joey. Who walked away from his home before 3am.
— Richard Sharp (@RichardKSHB) August 30, 2019
Raytown police and fire are searching area. pic.twitter.com/OcHDue6YjY
Heavy rains in the area raised concerns about the search and the boy's safety.
"I don't know how it affects the search dog. Of course, we are concerned for the little boy's welfare. It's raining. As far as we know he is only wearing a diaper. It's mid 60s right now, so there's some concern," Harper said.
Police said Joseph is on the autism spectrum.
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