Joshua Robb, 8, CA autistic child missing

[Lady Cop]

this doesn't appear to be a criminal matter. i hope he is huddled up in the woods and will be found today. i'm sure he is frightened and cold and hungry. that is rough mountain terrain, and he was not dressed for it. i hope he'll respond to searchers. it's been raining and temps around 40F.



LATimes

A search in a San Bernardino Mountains community was continuing as nightfall approached for an 8-year-old autistic boy who ran away from his elementary school Monday morning.

Joshua Robb, whom authorities described as "severely autistic," was last seen on the playground of Grandview Elementary School in Twin Peaks, near Lake Arrowhead.

The boy, who has brown hair and dark brown eyes, was wearing a tan and gray striped shirt, black shorts and gray sandals, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. He is about 4 feet, 6 inches tall.

Joshua left the school about 11 a.m., and the search was launched soon after. Sheriff’s deputies, the California Highway Patrol and numerous volunteers were scouring the heavily wooded areas surrounding the school. A helicopter was also aiding in the effort.

Authorities had followed Joshua’s footsteps leading from the school, but failed to find the boy. Sheriff’s spokeswoman Jodi Miller said officials planned on continuing the search throughout the night, using infrared and night vision equipment.

Anyone with information was asked to call the department’s Twin Peaks station at (909) 336-0600 or (909) 387-8313.

Sacramento Bee
ARROWHEAD, Calif. -- Searchers planned to press forward through the night in hopes of finding a severely autistic boy who authorities say ran away from his elementary school during morning recess and into a Southern California forest surrounding the school playground.

San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Bachman said 8-year-old Joshua Robb ran out of the gates of Grandview Elementary School's playground in Arrowhead at about 11 a.m. Monday.

Staff gave chase, but the boy ran into the forest and has not been found, Bachman said.

Law enforcement was on scene within minutes of receiving the call that a boy was missing from the school, Bachman said.

"He's rather quick and this kind of behavior where he runs off is typical," said Bachman, adding that to her knowledge he'd never been lost in the woods before.

Joshua is "severely autistic and does not respond well to loud noises or loud voices, and unfortunately in this situation we have to have the helicopter searching for him so I'm sure that is somewhat disturbing to him but it's absolutely necessary," Bachman said.

The boy is 60 to 75 lbs, with brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a tan and grey-striped collared shirt, black shorts and grey sandals.

Search and rescue teams from San Diego

[Lady Cop]

Robb's parents said he was removed from their custody and has been living with his teacher.

"A lot of prayers, just hoping that he's safe," said the boy's father, Ron Robb. "We've got a lot of search and rescue out looking for him and I'm very thankful for that."

His father, Ron Robb, said the boy had been taken into protective custody last month, and he strongly suspects he ran away from school to find his parents.

Robb says his family had been forced out of their home last month by a foreclosure proceeding.

He says a realtor called government officials, after noticing that the boy had been restrained.

"We had to lightly tether him while we were moving stuff out of our house," said Ron Robb. LIGHTLY TETHER HIM? THEY USED A ROPE. HOW ABOUT GET SOMEONE TO WATCH HIM?




video of boy & news here:

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=8351851

About 7 p.m. Monday evening, Crest Forest Fire paramedics, from Station 26 in Twin Peaks, transported the mother of the missing boy to Mountains Community Hospital. She was complaining of a severe migraine headache.

[Lady Cop]

The Lake Arrowhead parents of an autistic boy have been released from jail after their arrest for tying their 8-year-old to the deck of their foreclosed home, where officials say they were living in a tent.

Ronnie Bruce Robb, 52, and Patricia Ann Calcott, 44, were arrested Aug. 22 at their former residence, in the 1400 block of Sequoia Drive, after a realtor handling the property phoned deputies.

The unidentified realtor reported that the family had been locked out of the house when it was foreclosed and had pitched a tent in front of the residence where they were living.

The windows to the house were open, the caller said, and the family was using its utilities, according to a sheriff's report.

Twin Peaks Deputy Jaime Crispin went to the scene to investigate. According to her report, the couple admitted tethering the boy to the deck with a rope because "he runs away and gets into trouble."

Crispin also reported finding marijuana paraphernalia in the family tent. The deputy arrested the parents and booked them both at Central Detention Center for child endangerment with the possibility of injury.

Lt. Rick Ells of the Twin Peaks sheriff's station said the child was turned over to the countys Department of Children and Family Services for care.

Jail records show both Robb and Calcott have been released from custody, and no formal charges had been filed as of Tuesday.

[Lady Cop]

For those who are interested in searching for the child, we have the following statement from the Sheriffs office.


Lt. Rick Ells told ROTWNEWS that the offers to volunteer in the search are appreciated, the Search and Rescue and COP teams have Sheriffs radios and GPS tracking equipment. Our best advice to the public is to offer prayers for the child and search teams. We are not asking for additional volunteers at this time.


school




the father



deputy

news

[Lady Cop]

Cindy Bachman, a spokeswoman with the San Bernardino County sheriff, said that searchers are playing a recording of his father's voice on a PA system in hopes that he will respond to it.






father

[Lady Cop]

YAY!

TWIN PEAKS (CBS) — A missing 8-year-old autistic boy has been found after spending the night alone in the San Bernardino woods.

Joshua Robb, 8, was found by search and rescue members around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday about one mile northwest of Grandview Elementary School. Robb escaped through the school’s playground gates shortly after 11 a.m. Monday.

[HairOfTheDog]

Great news. So glad he's okay.

This little guy must really hate school...

[Lady Cop]

it wasn't school, he was seeking his parents since he had been removed from their custody.

[HairOfTheDog]

it wasn't school, he was seeking his parents since he had been removed from their custody.

I understand.

The story is really quite sad, but the ending is happy. I hope the parents can find adequate shelter and a safe place to care for their son. This could have turned out really badly.

[Lady Cop]

First came the footprint. Then a series of them. Then a boy's rain-soaked striped shirt laid out on a log. By Tuesday afternoon, a four-member search team, one of dozens scoping the thickly forested San Bernardino National Forest, had the boy — alive, though tired and hungry.

"Thank you … you saved me," the boy said in a low voice.

Joshua Robb, an autistic 8-year-old who had been missing for more than 24 hours after running away from his elementary school in Twin Peaks, was found in "pretty good shape" in a rugged ravine 1 ¹⁄₂ miles from the school, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department officials said. The boy, who "was basically boxed in," said Capt. Tony Nicassio, was airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he was listed in good condition.

"He's drinking water ... eating ... it's elation ... relief," Lt. Rick Ells said. "He seems in pretty good shape."

More than 60 sheriff's deputies and California Highway Patrol officers had spread out across the forest near Lake Arrowhead on Tuesday morning in a frantic search for Joshua, who had squeezed through a fence at Grandview Elementary in Twin Peaks around 11 a.m. Monday. At least one school staff member had given chase but couldn't catch the boy.

The search team members said that after finding the shirt, they heard Joshua's voice, mumbling, in the distance. Then they saw him.

"He was just standing there; I think he was coming to us," said Justin Wheaton, a volunteer with the San Bernardino Mountain Search and Rescue Team.

Joshua was shirtless, had some scratches and was extremely tired, yet had somehow managed to survive the hard rains, lightning and cold weather that pushed through Lake Arrowhead overnight.

"He didn't say a whole lot at first, just hugs," Wheaton said.

And then came the thank you in a low voice.

Joshua's parents, Ron Robb and Patricia Calcott, hugged and cried when their son was found, calling it "a true miracle," although they acknowledged they were stunned by Joshua's words because he is usually shy and rarely speaks, Robb said.

[Lady Cop]

The parents of an autistic boy, who ran away from school and was lost in the mountains for 30 hours, have lost their fight to regain custody of him.
Joshua Robb, eight, was found in the wilderness more than 24 hours after he ran away from his elementary school in Twin Peaks, California.
He was airlifted to a hospital for an evaluation and was said to be fine after his ordeal.
The boy's parents were not able to take him home, KTLA reports.
Instead he was placed in the care of a social worker.
Joshua's father said: 'I told the nurse, "I know you have your job to do, but this is just totally wrong. Take him to a proper home".'
Joshua's parents recently lost their home to foreclosure, and authorities believed the boy may have been searching for them when he disappeared.
The boy was placed in protective custody two weeks ago and had been staying with a teacher.
His parents are currently facing child abuse charges for allegedly keeping him tied up with a rope at their home.
San Bernardino County officials granted them visitation rights to their son on Thursday.
The court also ordered the couple to take parenting classes.
They are due back in court on September 26.