An autistic boy reported missing for the second time in 10 days is home safe.
Law enforcement says Vincenzo Paradiso ran away from his group home near MLK and Gowan then, was found several hours later 14 miles away near Sam Boyd Stadium.
Questions remain about how this keeps happening. Definitely questions not only from viewers but family friends.
A statewide alert was issued Monday on cell phones.
Paradiso was found safe hours later heading towards Henderson.
This is not the first time this has happened. A few weeks ago he ran away from school. CCSD says a staff member always accompanies the teen when he leaves a class, including the day he ran away. The district affirms a staff member walked Paradiso to the restroom. While in there, a change in classes started. The staff member saw Paradiso walk out, but he ran off and blended in with the crowd of students.
“Very concerned where his mind is at, why would he do this again,” said family friend Molly Weston.
She’s expressed her worry Monday night during the search for Paradiso. The autistic 16-year-old walked away from his group home in North Las Vegas.
“It really is like just an outer body experience and a living nightmare for his parents,” Weston said.
That nightmare ended after 12 hours.
His mother tells 8 News Now a family member who lives by Gibson Road and Boulder Highway found him walking in a dark dirt field.
She didn’t want to answer questions Tuesday claiming exhaustion but admits, “There have been mistakes we have to correct.”
“Unfortunately, with kids with autism they throw us curve balls all the time and they’ll develop new habits or new behaviors and we might not necessarily know why,” Weston said.
North Las Vegas police say Paradiso admitted walking towards Henderson because his mom lives there and he wanted to see her.
Weston says she and others spoke to Paradiso after he wandered off from school earlier this month.
“We just told him how dangerous it was, we told him how scared we were, we showed him some of the news videos and the news articles that were out there and I really thought he was taking that in and knew the severity of it.”
A lesson to teach again to try and keep Paradiso safe.
“I don’t know what prompted him to take off.”
North Las Vegas police says there needs to be a level of accountability.
The department adds Paradiso’s parents and the group home need to work something out, taking a proactive stance to prevent this happening again.