A non-verbal teenager lost in the woods managed to alert rescuers to his whereabouts by banging some rocks together.
The 16-year-old boy with a developmental disability ran away from his mother and sister while hiking in Glendale, Los Angeles County, and disappeared.
Search and rescue teams have been sent to comb the area around Crescenta Valley Park, south of the Angeles National Forest, which is covered in thick brush and trees.
After six hours of searching, Sheriff’s Deputy Steve Goldsworthy heard the sound of rocks crashing down a steep ravine.
The teenager was lost in the woods for six hours. Photo: LASD – Montrose Search and Rescue Team
Mr Goldsworthy led a police helicopter to look down the canyon and the teenager was found sitting under an oak tree, around 3 miles from where he had first disappeared.
“His mother had told me he had this affection for stones,” Mr. Goldsworthy told NBC News.
“We were screaming in this canyon, and I heard something coming back. It sounded like someone taking two stones and putting them together.
“I could hear the rocks banging, and a faint echo. I could hear that three different times.”
A police helicopter was used in the search for the boy. Photo: LASD – Montrose Search and Rescue Team
“He will go out of his way to kick a rock, pick up a rock, throw a rock,” Mr Goldsworthy said.
“It was like his favorite things, so I picked up the rock and threw it in the ravine, and he looked at me and he ended up punching me.”
The teenager was treated by paramedics at the scene before being reunited with his family.
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