A tense Memorial Day weekend trip to Mariposa County ended happily for a Southern California family. On Saturday, May 29, 7-year-old Cameron Mitchell ran away from the Midpines residence that he and his family were visiting and remained missing for 16 hours.

According to Mariposa County Sheriff Brian Muller, Mitchell, who is autistic, became upset with a family member and ran into thick vegetation. Concern was heightened because Mitchell is unable to pronounce words because of his autism and couldn’t call out for help.

The Mariposa County Search and Rescue team, along with members of the Mariposa office of the California Highway Patrol, searched for the little boy throughout the night. Searchers were assisted by the CHP helicopter, three search dogs from the Merced Police Department and Merced County Sheriff’s Office and volunteers from within the community. The search was particularly difficult because of the thick vegetation.

More help came from Fresno, Kern, Madera, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Tuolumne County Sheriffs’ Offices on May 30. Ground efforts got a boost from the California Rescue Dog Association. Muller said a CodeRed alert was used to notify residents of the missing child.

Upon hearing the Sunday alert, Ron Loya, Daniel Clingenpeel and Tom Griffin got on their quads and started looking for Mitchell. Around 11:20 a.m., they found him. The sheriff noted the importance of volunteers and outside agencies in bringing this case to a relatively quick and happy ending. “The response that we received from the community and surrounding counties was overwhelming,” Muller said. “This kind of reliance on each other is a great reminder of how fortunate we are to live in this area.”

Other than a few scratches on the boy’s legs, Muller said, “He is doing great.”

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