A missing 8-year-old child with autism was found clinging to a branch in the water after the rescuers heard a faint cry.
Any parent who has a child with autism knows the particular kind of fear that comes with it. You learn their patterns. You know what draws them. And for many children on the spectrum, water is one of those things they just can’t resist. So when this nonverbal little one ran out of the home that day, the family already knew where the danger was.
The child had run before. The family told officers he would usually head down a path toward the road, toward the bushes. But they had always caught him in time. This time, he got further than he ever had. And there was a body of water close by.
Gwinnett County Police responded fast. Officers spread across the area while neighbors and community members joined the search on foot.
Master Police Officer J. Serrano drove his patrol car onto a bridge along Steve Reynolds Boulevard where he could see the water below. Others combed through the nearby woods.
And then somebody heard it. A cry from the water.
The child was out there, holding onto a branch. Serrano and a civilian nearby didn’t stop to think about it. They went straight in.
“I got you. I got you,” Serrano said as he reached the child. Body camera footage captured the whole thing. The screaming, the crying, and then the moment it all broke loose on shore. The family sobbing. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
The child was reunited with the family right there, checked over by Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services, and taken to a hospital just to be safe because of hypothermia concerns. No serious injuries.
God placed Officer Serrano on that bridge at that exact moment. We cannot even imagine what would have happened if they had not found him in time. But God knew. He already had every piece in place.
The truth is, we cannot watch over our children every second of every day. We just cannot. But God’s love surrounds them even when our arms cannot reach them. He is the protector who never sleeps, the shepherd who goes after the one.
Let us thank Him today for that, and let us pray for this family and for every parent raising a child with special needs.
WATCH: Rescuers Find Missing Autistic Child Holding On to a Branch in the Water
