'Very Thankful This Child Was Found Safe': New Details On Finding Of Bridgeport Boy, 4

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A 4-year-old Bridgeport boy with autism was found safe Thursday evening inside a neighbor’s unlocked car, more than two hours after he wandered away from his family’s home on the city's East Side, police said.

Bridgeport police officers were called shortly before 5 p.m. to a residence in the 900 block of William Street after the boy’s family reported that he had apparently unlocked the front door and left, according to Bridgeport Police Det. Jeffrey Holtz.

Officers and detectives were quickly deployed to search for the child. A Bridgeport police dog and a Connecticut police bloodhound also responded, with the bloodhound tracking the boy’s path. The New Canaan Police Department’s drone unit arrived to assist if needed, while the Bridgeport Fire Department prepared for a possible water search and rescue operation.

The boy was found around 7 p.m. when a neighbor and his 9-year-old son went to get into their car in a parking lot at the same residential complex.

"The son told his father there was someone in the car when he opened a car door," Holtz wrote in a news release. "The car had tinted windows, preventing anyone from seeing the missing child sooner. It is believed the boy may have wandered around the neighborhood before getting into the car."

The boy was reunited with his family and evaluated by American Medical Response medics.

Thursday's search played out while the Bridgeport Police Department was holding its annual awards ceremony at City Hall.

"We are very thankful this child was found safe and unharmed," Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter said in a statement. "Getting him back to his family was our top priority from the second that call came in. The impeccable professionalism and teamwork shown by our officers, detectives, supervisors, law enforcement partners from other agencies, as well as our dispatchers, made that happen. I could not be prouder, as should the community."