7-year-old student with autism wanders away from a Pittsburgh Public School during recess

PITTSBURGH — A student with autism was missing from a Pittsburgh Public School after wandering away on Tuesday.

A Pittsburgh Public School spokesperson said on Tuesday that the student left Pittsburgh Colfax school grounds during recess.

Pittsburgh Police said the child was reported missing at 12:15 p.m.

The school was placed on “Hold” status so staff could search lockers, closets and restrooms. The search was expanded off school grounds after that.

The student was found after knocking on a retired Pittsburgh Public School teacher’s door. The former teacher quickly contacted Pittsburgh Police, who returned them to safely to school.

Channel 11’s Addison Albert spoke with that teacher on Wednesday. Tune in to Channel 11 News at 6 p.m. Hear about the sweet interactions the two shared.

The child was missing for 45 minutes.

Staff said another student said the child was planning to “play hide and seek” and “run so far so they wouldn’t be caught.”

The child has been reunited with their family.

The home where the boy was found is about a mile from the school.

Channel 11 spoke to the man who lives there off-camera. He told us his wife, who is a retired Special Education teacher at PPS, was there when the boy arrived. He says he asked her for “shelter.”

That man also shared video exclusively with Channel 11 that shows the boy arriving, police coming to the house and the boy eventually leaving with a family member.

“It’s very sad and I feel sorry for his parents. I’m glad he was found safe and sound,” Colfax neighbor Merav Amos said.

“This is the number one priority the city should have, taking care of our kids. This is an example why schools here need more staff,” she said.

A similar situation happened in Kennedy Township in September when a 5-year-old non-verbal student with autism wandered away from Sto-Rox Primary Center.

The Sto-Rox school board just approved a plan to add new fencing to their playground in response to that incident.

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