A 6-year-old boy went missing on Wednesday, Nov. 20, in West Chester, Ohio, town officials said in a statement.
Joshua Al-Lateef Jr., who has autism and is non-verbal, went missing from his home on Wyndtree Drive. He is around 4 feet tall and weighs around 50 to 60 lbs. The young boy was last seen around 5:30 p.m., wearing a tan shirt, tan pants, a darker jacket and black New Balance shoes.
His brother and sister said his dad picked Joshua up from the bus stop, but after returning from the bus, he left home and has not been seen since, per WLWT 5. His older brother first called 911 to report him missing. He said Joshua was supposed to be watched by his older sister, adding that Joshua doesn’t have a history of wandering away.
“They can’t find my son,” Joshua’s mother said in a separate 911 call, per the Cincinnati Enquirer. “They can’t find my little boy.”
In her 911 call, Joshua’s mother said that her son likes water, and there is a body of water behind her apartment, but he’s never been close to it, per WLWT 5.
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The Ohio Attorney General’s Office then issued an Endangered Child Advisory on Wednesday night. West Chester Police Chief Brian Rebholz said the missing persons alert was sent out to a five-mile radius and reached around half a million phones, per WCPO 9.
West Chester police are investigating the missing person case. Authorities from Ohio State Highway Patrol, Texas Equusearch, Buckeye SAR and multiple Cincinnati-area agencies are all working together. They have begun searching the five-mile radius around the property where he went missing, including the eight bodies of water around it.
Joshua Al Lateef Jr.
West Chester Police Department
On Wednesday, K9 units were brought in. Additionally, diverse expertise and technical equipment are being utilized. However, the weather crews have had limited ability of thermal imaging and air assets, per WCPO 9. Despite that, drones and a Butler County Sheriff’s Office helicopter aided the search.
Five lakes were searched on Thursday, Nov. 21, and two of them were searched overnight, WLWT 5 reports. Fire Chief Rick Prinz confirmed that a second team will also search the lakes.
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On Thursday, 300 people gathered in the area to search for Joshua. Prinz said that beginning Thursday, they will start to search away from the initial area and search adjacent lakes in West Chester and nearby townships, Liberty Township and Fairfield Township.
“Everyone is diligently working to find Josh,” Prinz said, per WLWT 5.
Chief Rebholz asked people in surrounding areas with doorbells or exterior security cameras to look through their Wednesday afternoon footage for any signs of Joshua, as well as their properties’ back porches, decks, sheds, any bushes or shrubs.
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Tips can be reported through the online reporting form or calls to West Chester Police at 513-777-2231.
