A missing boy with autism from West St. Paul was located hundreds of kilometers away from home Saturday.
Rob and Corrine Read told CTV Sunday that they're happy their son, 16-year-old Nicholas Read, is home and safe, but are shocked he was located so far from home.
On Saturday night, the teenager with autism was located in Pickering, Ontario, not far from Toronto.
His mother said they thought he could be in one of three places, and Pickering was not one of them. She did not say if the family or her son had any connections to the Ontario city.
Parents said he got a ride to Pickering from Headingly, 20 km west of Winnipeg.
Once the boy was located, parents said they made arrangements to fly him back home.
Read, a student at West Kildonan Collegiate, disappeared Wednesday after his father dropped him off at school around 7:30 a.m.
He did not attend classes or return home on the school bus. His parents said he was dealing with mounting stress.
In an interview with CTV Winnipeg at their home in West St. Paul Friday afternoon, the parents said their son likely ran off due to mounting stress at school and in his personal life.
The news that Nicholas Read had been found safe was first reported by his father, Rob in a twitter post, "Nick has been located and is safe. We'll give a statement later, but we can't express enough how the support we have received helped us."
After that post, Corrine Read told CTV News Saturday night that the family is extremely grateful for the community's support, through phone calls and visits to offers to organize search parties.
“We just feel so supported right now,” said Rob.
