An 18-year-old Tulsa man with autism who went missing before dawn was found safe Sunday near 63rd Street and Riverside Drive, roughly four miles from the riverfront park he had reportedly set out to reach on foot. Austin Grimes was last seen around 3:15 a.m. near 3700 West 44th Street in West Tulsa, and he was barefoot when community members located him.
Tulsa Police said Grimes required assistance and described him as verbal and friendly, according to News On 6. Officers said Grimes appeared to be trying to reach Gathering Place, the sprawling riverfront park along Riverside Drive in Tulsa. Community members ultimately helped locate him safe, the outlet reported, near the 63rd Street and Riverside Drive area — a stretch of the Arkansas River corridor about four miles south of the park entrance near 26th Street, according to property listing data reviewed by HotPads.
Grimes's initial disappearance point in West Tulsa sits across the Arkansas River from where he was eventually found, meaning his overnight route would have carried him a considerable distance along or near the riverbank before he was spotted. Tulsa Police first reported him missing on Facebook, noting he was last seen wearing unknown clothing with possible pink slides or black and grey tennis shoes — details that quickly became moot once he was found without shoes at all.
Why Wandering Poses Such a Serious Risk
Grimes's case reflects a pattern well documented in autism research. A landmark study published in Pediatrics found that nearly 49% of individuals with autism attempt to wander or elope from safe environments, a rate nearly four times higher than that of their non-autistic siblings, according to the National Autism Association. Elopement often occurs when someone with autism is drawn toward a specific place of interest, which appears consistent with Grimes's reported destination.
The stakes in these incidents can be severe. Research compiled by the same organization shows that accidental drowning accounts for 71% of lethal outcomes following an autism wandering incident, with traffic accidents following at 18%. Grimes's route reportedly ran along the Arkansas River corridor, placing him near exactly the kind of hazard researchers flag as most dangerous. Communication barriers compound the risk: national studies compiled by the National Autism Association indicate that more than one-third of autistic individuals who wander are rarely or never able to verbally communicate their name, address, or phone number, which helps explain why Tulsa Police emphasized that Grimes needed assistance even though he was described as verbal.
Local and State Safety Nets for Vulnerable Adults
Oklahoma created a dedicated alert system for cases like this one. House Bill 1077, passed in November 2023, established the Kasey Alert to notify the public about missing or endangered adults between 18 and 59 who fall outside traditional Amber and Silver Alert criteria, according to the Oklahoma Policy Institute. The alert system is named after Kasey Russell, a 29-year-old Cherokee Nation citizen. Hoodline previously covered how the same alert framework applied to a missing woman case in southwest Oklahoma City earlier this month.
Tulsa Police also maintain tools specifically built for families of neurodivergent residents. The department's Autism Alert Form lets families pre-register communication needs, medical conditions, and emergency contact information with officers before an incident ever occurs, submitting the completed forms directly to the department's Records Division. In December, Tulsa Police and surrounding Tulsa County agencies also launched the Blue Envelope Program, which provides emergency contacts and communication guidelines to help facilitate calmer interactions during encounters with drivers or individuals who have autism or communication difficulties.
A Department With Ties to the Autism Community
Tulsa Police have built relationships with the local autism community beyond emergency response protocols. The department participates in the annual Autism Oklahoma Walk in Tulsa, an event that factored into Officer Allen Weckhorst's recognition with a 2025 Attorney General honor for his community work, as Hoodline reported in a prior story on the award. That ongoing community presence sits alongside the department's broader record of searching for vulnerable missing adults, including an October 2025 case Hoodline covered involving a repeatedly missing 77-year-old Tulsa resident.
For now, the outcome in Grimes's case is the one families and officers hope for every time: he was found safe, thanks to a search effort that combined police work with help from community members who spotted him along the riverfront. The specifics of how he traveled the miles between West 44th Street and 63rd Street remain unclear beyond what locators and police have described.
