POUGHKEEPSIE – City police located a 7-year-old autistic child approximately one-half mile away from his elementary school. The child was located before school administrators had even notified police that the child was missing.
A City of Poughkeepsie patrol officer noticed a child walking near the intersection of Parker Avenue and Garden Street on Wednesday, March 23 at 12:48 p.m. The youth had no adult supervision and appeared to be lost.
The officer made contact with the child, who had difficulty providing his address or other pertinent information. In speaking with the child, officers were able to ascertain that he was a 7-year-old student at Morse Elementary School on Mansion Street.
Officers made contact with school officials who confirmed that the autistic child had walked away from the school. School officials confirmed that they were in the process of making a report and beginning the search process. The officers had located the student who had walked six-tenths of a miles away before the school had even called the police. The distance covered by the child takes approximately 10 minutes for an adult to walk the route.
On Friday, Poughkeepsie City School District Spokeman Irwin Goldberg said that the incident is being investigated internally and was discussed at the PCSD SAVE Committee meeting. On Friday, audible door alarms were being installed on external doors at Morse.
When asked about the protocols in place when a student goes missing, Goldberg said, “When a student is reported missing: all available staff do a sweep of the building, an announcement is made for the student to report back to class, then a sweep of the grounds is conducted. The final step is calling the police.”
The district claims that the child went missing at 12:40 p.m., indicating that he walked the six-tenths of a miles in eight minutes. The student’s parents were notified of the incident after police returned the child.
* The original version of the story said the child went missing at 12:45 p.m.
A “hold-in-place” was not instituted while staff tried to locate the child. Building Principal Samantha Velez-Mitchell told district officials that there was an assembly taking place when the child was lost.
Goldberg said all staff, including the principal, searched the building. The principal notified authorities after the building and grounds were searched.
