For Immediate Release: Friday, August 8, 2025
Gaithersburg, MD – Montgomery County Department of Police – 5th District officers safely located a missing 6-year-old, non-verbal child with autism after the boy was found in the middle of a pond behind the Germantown Library.
At approximately 5:40 p.m. on Wednesday, August 6, officers were flagged down in the 19800 block of Century Blvd. by a person who reported that their child had been missing for about 45 minutes. The parent shared that the boy had wandered off before, but didn’t know which direction he may have gone this time.
As more officers arrived to help search the area, a community member told a 5th District officer that they had just seen a child near a pond behind the library. The officer ran to the pond and saw the boy playing in the water. The officer went into the pond and carried the boy to safety. Montgomery County Fire Rescue personnel evaluated the child and determined he was not injured.
Officers later learned that the boy does not know how to swim and that the pond’s water level was lower than normal at the time of the incident.
“This could have ended very differently,” said Officer Laurie Reyes with the department’s Autism/Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Unit. “We can’t say this enough — when someone with autism or another developmental disability goes missing, call 9-1-1 right away. Every minute matters.”
Officer Reyes said MCPD officers locate an average of three to eight people on the autism spectrum each week.
“In more than half of these cases, caregivers wait before calling for help,” Reyes said. “This can happen to anyone. Even the most dedicated parents. We know they’re doing the best they can, but it’s so important to make that call as soon as possible.”
Children on the autism spectrum are often drawn to water. To help prevent wandering, the police department offers free safety kits for families. The kits include window decals, a special MCPD T-shirt, and other tools to keep children safe.
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The IDD Unit also provides support, outreach, and training to individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities, along with their families and the community. More information is also available on the unit’s Facebook page .
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Release ID: 25-382
Media Contact: S.D. Goff
Categories: found-person , life-saving-actions , missing-person
For updates and link to press release, see here: http://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail_Pol.aspx?Item_ID=47474