(KGTV) — Deputies rescued an 11-year-old boy who wandered onto the freeway early in March.
According to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, the incident happened on March 9 around 4:30 pm after an 11-year-old boy went missing from a supermarket on the 9600 block of Mission Gorge Road.
"According to the reporting party, the child, who is non-verbal, was with his family when he ran out of the store. His family called the Sheriff's Office when they were not able to find him," the department said.
Deputies from the Santee Sheriff's Department "began to look for the missing child," the department added.
"Around 5:15 p.m., off-duty Sheriff's Dispatcher Shiloh Corbet was driving home from work when she spotted someone matching the missing child's description running along Mast Boulevard near the State Route 52 on-ramp."
The department said she called in to report the sighting and, while on the phone, noticed the child running up the freeway ramp. "She immediately stopped her car and followed the child. By the time she got to the freeway's shoulder, the child had crossed the westbound lanes of SR-52 and was standing in the center divider."
The department said once deputies arrived and parked, they could see the 11-year-old on the top of the concrete embankment. "Deputies tried to contact him, but the child moved away from them," the department said.
When deputies saw him move towards the center divider, they ran up the embankment to try to stop him. The 11-year-old started running along the freeway. Deputies then jumped over the guardrail to catch up to the child. Deputies were able to rescue him from the freeway, and he was reunited with his family.
