The Hall County Sheriff’s Office on late Thursday evening found a missing autistic girl in the middle of Poplar Springs Road and safely reunited the child with her parents.
The non-verbal girl, 9, left her parents' house around 9 p.m. after her father went to work. The house is typically locked to prevent the girl from wandering off. However, the child was somehow able to access the key and she wandered nearly a mile away from her home.
A citizen called 911 after they saw the girl in the middle of the road. Hall County deputies tried to retrace the child’s steps with a K-9 unit, since she was unable to say who she was and where she was from. Investigators then contacted school resource officers from nearby elementary schools.
These school resource officers successfully identified the girl and found her address and parents’ contact information.
The girl was taken to the hospital for observation, where she was treated for minor scratches and abrasions.
She was reunited with her parents at the hospital.
In a press release, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office thanked community members for sharing the word overnight.
