A six-year-old autistic boy who went missing from his home in San Jose, California was rescued by a group of homeless people who live in make-shift tents a few miles from his home.
Sergio Zepeda is non-verbal, and his mum only realised he’d gone missing when she noticed things were a bit too quiet, and the garage door had been left open.
She called the police straight away, but 17 hours later, Sergio still hadn’t been found.
However, a few miles away, a homeless man called Jose Salmeron heard a noise outside his tent at 4am, and when he looked out to see what it was, he was surprised to see a little, naked boy: “Like E.T.,” he told reporters.
Sergio had either taken his clothes off on his travels, or left them at home, and when Salmeron saw him, he, his wife, and his friends got Sergio some food and water and wrapped him in a blanket.
Salmeron then got a friend’s phone and called 911 and the boy was reunited with his family. The homeless man said it was the only right thing to do:
“When you see a helpless kid like that, you are supposed to do the right thing, and just call the cops right away. Thank God he didn't get hit by a train, or fall into the water.”
