MOM THANKS COMMUNITY AND POLICE AFTER MISSING SON WITH AUTISM FOUND SAFE

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Skye Pinon, via ECM news partner 10 News

December 9, 2023 (La Mesa) – Skye Pinon says it was the “scariest moment of my entire life” when she realized that her 15-year-old son,  Max, who has autism, was missing.  Max went for a walk around 3 p.m. shortly before Thanksgiving wearing only a T-shirt and shorts, with no wallet or cell phone.

Skye Pinon and her husband spent an hour searching on their own, then called La Mesa Police, according to her post on a La Mesa community forum. Within minutes, officers took a report, had a helicopter in the air broadcasting Max’s description, called in a volunteer canine search and rescue team, and launched a social media post that was soon widely shared.  

“It only took minutes for the amazing people of this community to begin responding and I immediately began getting calls, texts, and social media messages from people asking how they could help,” Pinon says.

Volunteers canvassed neighborhoods, posting and reposting information online. “Everyone from neighbors I’m close with to distant neighbors I rarely see, close friends of mine to total strangers I’ve never met, all jumped into action to support my family and help find my son.”

Amazingly, Max was found over five hours after this ordeal started and after traveling over 12 miles on foot in five hours. He wound up in El Cajon. A bystander who heard the helicopter announcement spotted Max  looking scared, confused, and lost and called the El Cajon Police, who were on the lookout due to the interagency coordination with the La Mesa Police Department.

Pinon told ECM news partner 10 News that she felt "raw fear" while Max was missing. Online, she wrote, “I truly thought I might never see my son again. He could have been hit my a car, attacked, kidnapped, or worse, but thanks to the quick and efficient work of the La Mesa PD and cooperating agencies, and the compassion and willingness of the people of this community to jump in and help find my son, he was brought back home to us."

During this holiday season, she wants to share this message with the community.  “I am so incredibly thankful to live here surrounded by such incredible people, and words can not express the gratitude I have for everyone who made sure my son got home safe. In times like these, when it feels like conflict is everywhere, please know that the good in humanity far outweighs everything else.”