ATLANTA — One of the residents who found a 6-year-old boy walking around by himself on Sunday afternoon said he was partially clothed when he was discovered. The neighbor said he appeared happy and thought he lived in the area.
11Alive reported the boy, who has autism, was supposed to be at Laurel Heights hospital, but managed to run away by climbing a fence.
The hospital confirmed the boy "eloped" from the facility but didn't give further details. The boy's mother, Brittany Davis, said her son was admitted to the hospital for 72 hours due to side-effects from a new medication. She warned the facility running away was part of his impulsive behavior, but claims the facility brushed off her concerns and never contacted her to say her son was missing.
Terri Cohen was one of the neighbors who found the boy and said he stayed on her mind all night, until she finally saw 11Alive's story. After the story aired, Cohen, relieved the boy was back with his mother, reached out to fill in the gaps of what happened when the boy was found walking a quarter of a mile away from the facility.
Cohen, who lives on Rosedale Road, said she saw another neighbor walking with the boy trying to find out how to get him home.
"I sort of stood here trying to grasp what was happening because there was a little boy without a lot of clothes on. His T-shirt came to here," Cohen said, making a gesture at her mid-waist. "He had no pants or shoes or socks on. So, it's pretty instant concerning situation."
The boy's grandmother, Dianne Davis, said she was told by someone at the facility, he may have gotten wet at some point while walking.
"He has sensory issues," said Dianne. "And when they got wet, he takes them off. He went through some water. We don't know how deep it was, wherever he went through."
Once Cohen decided to join her neighbor to figure out what was going on, she said the boy thought he lived in the neighborhood and went into other neighbor's home. But, the boy's family lives two hours away.
"He's very sweet, he was just rambunctious, opening doors," said Cohen. "The neighbors really rallied around him and we cleaned him. He was pretty dirty and he had scratches on his legs, so we gave him a pair of hand-me-down shorts."
Cohen said in all, five neighbors helped feed the young boy, gave him socks, and tried to find out where his parents where. At the time, they didn't know he was supposed to be at Laurel Heights.
"A lot of everything he was saying didn't quite makes sense. We didn't know if he was abused or what the story was."
Cohen and her neighbors called DeKalb County Police and said the responding officer took special care to be gentle with the young boy. But the image of the young boy, smiling and happy, holding an officer's hand was upsetting to Cohen, who didn't know what would happen to him.
"I just tended to like sort of fall apart, just to see that happening to him. He just had dirt and scrapes. The scrapes were concerning, they were more than just a little bit of play," Cohen said.
Brittany, the boy's mom, shared pictures of the boys scrapes and bruises, which apparently came from climbing the fence on the hospital's property.
Brittany, Dianne, and Cohen, all questioned if the facility knew the boy was missing, why he wasn't watched more carefully and if the facility contacted police.
In a statement to 11Alive, the CEO of the facility wrote, "Laurel Heights Hospital can confirm that a patient eloped from the facility on July 10. Due to HIPAA patient privacy laws, we cannot offer comment on specific patients or their treatment."
11Alive asked Laurel Heights if anyone on the hospital staff called police. They have not responded.
Cohen said in total, the boy was with neighbors and police for about two hours. They're unsure of how long he was alone beforehand.
Cohen called it concerning once she learned the boy was supposed to be in the care of the behavioral hospital.
"I hope that there's an investigation and I hope that this has gotten to the bottom of. We need facilities like this, (but) they have to be good. They have to be safe," she added.
The boy was returned to the facility where his mom picked him up a few hours later. She said the staff were apologetic, but either way, she is looking for an attorney.