An 11-year-old non-verbal autistic boy who had been reported missing on March 9 was rescued from a perilous situation on a freeway in Santee, thanks to the coordinated efforts of law enforcement and a sharp-eyed off-duty Sheriff's Dispatcher. The child had vanished after running out of a supermarket on Mission Gorge Road, prompting his family to alert the Sheriff's Office. The collaborative rescue unfolded in an ordeal captured by Sheriff's ASTREA (helicopter) video, as shared in a San Diego County Sheriff's Office release.
Once notification of the missing child was received just before 4:30 PM, the Santee Sheriff's Station deputies were dispatched for the search. They were joined by the Sheriff's ASTREA helicopter, which made public announcements to assist in locating the boy. An off-duty Sheriff's Dispatcher, Shiloh Corbet, spotted the boy at around 5:15 PM as he was running dangerously close to State Route 52. Despite being off-duty, Corbet sprang into action, following the boy onto the freeway and keeping communication lines open with on-duty Dispatch. Her actions provided crucial real-time information, guiding on-duty deputies to the right location.
The situation grew tense as the boy reached the freeway's center divider. Deputies Cody Green and Michael Moser from the Sheriff's Office wasted no time, racing up the embankment toward the child. Although the child moved away initially, a potentially dangerous chase ensued when he hopped over the guardrail and onto the busy freeway. Deputies Green and Moser managed to safely retrieve the child from this high-risk environment, ultimately reuniting him with his grateful family. Throughout this scenario, no injuries were reported.
