Missing 13-year-old with autism found 200 miles from home

An autistic teenage boy who disappeared from his home in Arizona was found safe and well around 200 miles away after wandering in a supermarket.

New Mexico State Police posted a photo of an unidentified boy who was found at a Walmart in Deming on Tuesday night.

The photo showed the boy on an ambulance stretcher and only described him as being 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighing 230 pounds. NMSP later described the teen as “non-verbal” and explained he had no identification on him.

Within seven minutes, someone replied to that post saying that the Tucson Police Department was looking for someone who looked very similar to the boy.

The boy turned out to be 13-year-old Marcus Tessier, who had managed to travel some 200 miles from home without being able to speak to others.

“My mom woke up, and he was no longer in the house. The front door was unlocked, and he was just gone,” Marcus’s brother, Mikel Desmond, told local news channel KRQE.

Later on Tuesday evening, when Mikel got a call from New Mexico explaining where his brother was, he said he was sceptical.

“I talked to the officer, I talked to a nurse there, and honestly, they had trouble getting me to believe it,” he added, explaining that the family had received several scam calls claiming to know where Marcus was.

However, the caller switched over to video and Mikel was able to see his brother.

“Marcus is now back home safely in Tucson,” NMSP said in an update on Facebook. “Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible by sharing, commenting, and spreading the word.”