MoCo Police

MCPD Releases Message on Autism Wandering Safety After 10-Year-Old Charles County Girl With Autism Lost Her Life Wandering Into a Body of Water

By Patrick Herron

Per MCPD: A message from Officer L. Reyes, Unit Coordinator of our Autism/IDD, Alzheimer’s/Dementia Unit, on Autism Wandering Safety:
“I wanted to provide wandering/elopement safety tools to the parents and caregivers of those who have autism/IDD. This weekend in Charles County, a young girl who has autism and was non-speaking lost her life wandering into a body of water.

Please know that your Montgomery County Officers are trained on effective response to all types of calls for those who have autism/IDD to include calls for wandering. We understand the urgency in response and the challenges of caring for an individual that may wander. We only want to find your loved one safe. MCPD responds to an average of 3-8 calls a week, for individuals we locate before families call 911.

Please do not wait to call 911 if your loved, who has autism/ IDD, is missing. We know that there will be bumps in the road in caring for a child/adult that has autism and a propensity to wander.

Our MCPD Autism/IDD Unit has been around since 2004 providing, training, outreach, follow up, empowerment and response from calls beyond wandering to include the mundane to the very serious. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the unit coordinator, Officer L. Reyes at

[email protected]. We can go over safety suggestions and other safety tools. However, there is no better tool than to call 911 immediately if your loved one who has Autism/IDD is missing.
#MCPNews #MCPD #AutismIDDUnit”