Authorities were interviewing a woman believed to be the mother of an 11-year-old boy found wandering on a highway in Orange County early Monday morning.
The boy appears to be autistic, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department. A deputy with the department found the boy walking on the Crown Valley Parkway just north of the 5 Freeway in Mission Viejo at about 1:45 a.m.
The boy was having trouble verbalizing his name and where he is from, officials said. But investigators located the boy's mother, the department's Twitter account said.
#OCSDPIO: MV LOCATED CHILD UPDATE - Mother located by investigators and enroute to residence. Details to follow. pic.twitter.com/UJ43jGXPWc — OC Sheriff, CA (@OCSD) June 8, 2015
Deputies later clarified that they received a tip about a woman presumed to be the boy's mother,
"The biggest concern is how somebody htat we beleive to be 10-12 years oldl could be msising and nobody be msising him," Lt. Jeff Hallock said.
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The brown-haired, blue-eyed boy was not hurt and may be named Jabriel, the department said on Twitter. He was wearing a yellow shirt and black shorts that have the letters "WPMS" on it.
The boy was placed in the care of Child Protective Services while investigators interviewed the woman believed to be his mother.
