11-Year-Old Boy With Down Syndrome Reunited With Family After Being Found Alone On Upper Darby Street

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UPPER DARBY, Pa. (CBS) — A young boy with Down syndrome has been reunited with his family after being found alone on 69th and Walnut Streets in Upper Darby on Thursday.

When Upper Darby police found the boy, he could not communicate which led them to believe he might be autistic. The boy was incapable of providing them with any information about where he came from, or where his parents, guardians or grandparents could be located.

According to Capt. John Stanford, the 11-year-old boy has Down syndrome and was with a babysitter when he wandered out of the house.

"A babysitter was there, noticed he was missing and began to canvas the area looking, prior to calling police. So they were making some attempts to locate him themselves but they weren't able to do so and that's when they contacted us," said Stanford.

Police were reportedly told that the child is known to do that often.

He was located near a shopping center by a county employee who noticed the boy crossing the street.

They immediately notified the Upper Darby Police Department.

"We took a picture, we put it out on social media hoping to find somebody that we can contact and we're just waiting," said Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood.

According to officials, the boy's family reported him missing to Philadelphia police around 11 a.m. and when Upper Darby police shared the information, the mother confirmed it was her son.

Officials took to social media to thank the public for their help in locating the child's family.