Mom Pleads After 6-Year-Old Son with Autism Goes Missing from Ohio Home: 'They Can't Find My Little Boy'

Mar. 15, 2025

Joshua Al Lateef Jr.Photo:West Chester Police Department

West Chester Police Department

A 6-year-old boy went missing on Wednesday, Nov. 20, in West Chester, Ohio, town officials said in astatement.

Joshua Al-Lateef Jr., who has autism and is non-verbal, went missing from his home on Wyndtree Drive. He is around 4 feet tall and weighs around 50 to 60 lbs. The young boy was last seen around 5:30 p.m., wearing a tan shirt, tan pants, a darker jacket and black New Balance shoes.

“They can’t find my son,” Joshua’s mother said in a separate 911 call, per theCincinnati Enquirer.“They can’t find my little boy.”

In her 911 call, Joshua’s mother said that her son likes water, and there is a body of water behind her apartment, but he’s never been close to it, per WLWT 5.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office then issued an Endangered Child Advisory on Wednesday night. West Chester Police Chief Brian Rebholz said the missing persons alert was sent out to a five-mile radius and reached around half a million phones, perWCPO 9.

Joshua Al Lateef Jr.West Chester Police Department

On Wednesday, K9 units were brought in. Additionally, diverse expertise and technical equipment are being utilized. However, the weather crews have had limited ability of thermal imaging and air assets, per WCPO 9. Despite that, drones and a Butler County Sheriff’s Office helicopter aided the search.

Five lakes were searched on Thursday, Nov. 21, and two of them were searched overnight, WLWT 5 reports. Fire Chief Rick Prinz confirmed that a second team will also search the lakes.

“Everyone is diligently working to find Josh,” Prinz said, per WLWT 5.

Chief Rebholz asked people in surrounding areas with doorbells or exterior security cameras to look through their Wednesday afternoon footage for any signs of Joshua, as well as their properties’ back porches, decks, sheds, any bushes or shrubs.

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Tips can be reported through theonline reporting formor calls to West Chester Police at 513-777-2231.

source: people.com