Joshua Robb, 8, CA autistic child missing

[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.