A Wilmington teen diagnosed with autism was found safe after a New Hanover County school bus driver helped police locate the boy, reported WRAL News.
According to the article, bus driver Marie Murphy and her monitor Valeria Davis were picking up students April 25 during their normal route when Davis received a notification on her cell phone.
Davis told local news reporters that the WECT app, which provides local news alerts, notified her that a teenager was missing around the Wilmington area.
Davis showed the update to Murphy, and they realized the 14-year-old often rode their school bus. The teen was reported missing at midnight, and the Wilmington Police officers had spent five hours looking for him that morning.
After seeing the boy’s picture, Murphy and Davis were on the lookout as well. Murphy told local news reporters that it made her think of her own kids.
During their last school bus stop, the women reportedly saw the teen standing with a friend on the side of a street. They tried talking to the teen about the incident but all he said was that he wanted to go to school.
Davis and Murphyc contacted their supervisors, Laura Sebert and Stacy Greene, who called 911. Murphy drove the teen to New Hanover High School, where police met them. The reasons for the teen’s disappearance remain unclear.
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