LEE COUNTY, Fla. — A Lee County deputy is being recognized after helping a mostly non-verbal 13-year-old boy who was found walking alone on a busy road.
Watch the video here:
Deputy Humberto Labaut discovered the teen, identified only as Mike, walking by himself on State Road 82 with no obvious way to communicate where he came from.
Bodycam video shows the deputy gently asking Mike if he knew where his mom was and taking his hand to help guide him to safety.
"You wanna hold my hand? Come on," Labaut said.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office and Fort Myers Police worked together for hours to determine where Mike lived. Eventually, a mother called to report her son missing.
Officials discovered Mike had walked nearly 2 miles from his home before being found. He was safely reunited with his family.
The family was also provided information about the United Way Reunite program, a free service that helps caregivers of children and vulnerable adults who may wander or go missing. The program covers Lee, Hendry, and Glades counties and includes tools like free scent kits, drones, bloodhounds, and the sheriff's aviation unit to speed up search and rescue missions.
