A 12-year-old Edgewater boy with autism who was reported missing was found safe, according to police. Brayden Milham Hopson was reported missing from the area of Regent and Bond Street off Mango Tree Drive, just north of 16th Street.
The Edgewater Police Department described Hopson as autistic and asked anyone who spotted him to call 911 immediately, while also requesting that people try to keep him in sight from a safe distance if possible, according to ClickOrlando. Authorities described Hopson as weighing around 103 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, details shared as the search got underway.
Police announced that Hopson had been found safe, bringing an end to a search. The outlet's report notes he was found after being reported missing, according to police — closing out what for many families in similar situations can become a much longer ordeal.
Why Wandering Is a Recurring Fear for Autism Families
Wednesday's search was not the first time Edgewater police have looked for a missing child with autism. The previous year, a 7-year-old boy who was reported missing was found safe, according to the Edgewater Police Department, as reported by WESH. That boy, a second grader, was last seen at or near the campus of Edgewater Elementary before he was located.
Episodes like these reflect a documented pattern among children on the autism spectrum. A study cited by Kennedy Krieger Institute found that 49% of children with autism spectrum disorders attempted to elope, or wander off, at least once after age 4. Among those who did, 53% went missing long enough to cause real concern, and children ages 4 to 7 eloped at four times the rate of their unaffected siblings.
How Long Kids Typically Go Missing
The same research found that children with autism who wandered were missing for an average of 41.5 minutes, a window that underscores how quickly these situations can escalate before a child is located. Wandering remains a persistent safety concern nationwide.
Wandering, sometimes called elopement, is a recurring concern for autism families — a pattern that helps explain why local police departments like Edgewater's move quickly and lean on community members to help spot a missing child before too much time passes.
