A 12-year-old boy with Down syndrome and autism missing for two days in Sydney’s west has been found safe and well just 150m from the police HQ leading the hunt for him.
Hussein Al Mansoory vanished after he was last seen running from Auburn Memorial Park towards the intersection of Station Road and Rawson Street, Auburn, at about 10.30am on Saturday.
A major search operation was launched including with the help of the police air wing and hundreds of SES volunteers who were scouring backyards in the area.
Police confirmed Hussein was found safe and well in Auburn at about 12.40pm on Monday.
The boy was found underneath a stairwell at the Queen Street Medical Centre – just 150 metres away from the Auburn Police Station – by a staff member who thought to check the area after seeing reports of the missing child.
Scenes of relief and jubilation broke out after Hussein was found, his cousin saying through tears of joy: ‘He’s okay, he’s okay.’
NSW Police Superintendent Simon Glasser said Hussein was smiling and sitting up when he was found and is ‘on all accounts doing well’.
He was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.
Hussein Al Mansoory is seen in a hospital gown after being found just after midday on Monday
The 12-year-old is doing well and was taken to hospital for a check up
Family and loved ones of Hussein are seen getting in an ambulance after the child was found
Hussein Al Mansoory, aged 12, was last seen running from Auburn Memorial Park towards the intersection of Station Road and Rawson Street, Auburn, at about 10.30am on Saturday
Hussein had last been seen wearing just a t-shirt and nappy, and was also barefoot.
Superintendent Glasser said his family were ‘ecstatic’ hearing the news he’d been found and arrived at the scene immediately.
It’s unclear how long the boy had been in the stairwell for and if he had access to food or water.
CCTV had earlier captured Hussein, who is also non-verbal, at Auburn station on Saturday but police say he did not board a train.
Superintendent Glasser had earlier said there was nothing to suggest anything sinister was behind the 12-year-old’s disappearance.
‘We’re highly concerned, this is as high risk as it gets for us,’ Superintendent Glasser told reporters before the boy was found.
‘He’s 12-years-old, special needs and he’s been out and about by himself for 48 hours now.’
Hussein Al Mansoory, aged 12, disappeared from Auburn Memorial Park at about 10.30am on Saturday
He said Hussein’s family had been ‘quite distraught’. The child was known to run away but was usually found quickly.
‘The footage of him in the shirt and nappy shows just how vulnerable he is,’ Superintendent Glasser said.
There were also grave fears Hussein may have been without water and food for those two days, when temperatures soared above 30C.
The boy was seen wandering alone at Auburn train station on Saturday