Ooh-Whee! Our Neighborhood Just Had a Scare!

Jackie and I were outside gardening when two boys came by to ask if we had seen a young blonde-haired boy walking by himself. When we said, "No," they told us that a lady not far from us had told them her son was missing and they said they'd walk around the block and look for him.

That put Jackie and me into "Let's help this mom find her wee one!" so we both jumped into vehicles and headed in different directions. Every time I saw someone outside, I let them know the situation so they'd be on the lookout for a little boy.

I drove about five miles down various roads, letting people know all along the way, and then decided I needed to talk to the mom and get some more information on the boy -- age, height -- and to see if she had notified police yet.

The boys had told us that the mom drove a bright yellow vehicle and lived in a cul de sac between 48th Avenue East and Canyon Road, so I went down 96th Street slowly between 48th and Canyon looking for a bright yellow vehicle. BINGO! Spotted one in a cul de sac, so I stopped and went to the front door. It was open except for a screen door -- and there, behind the screen door stood a young boy with blonde hair. "Jesus," I prayed silently, "let this be the right house and let that be the missing boy!"

I asked the young man, "Hi, is your mommy home?" He said, "Yes," and at that moment she came around the corner. I asked her, "Are you the lady who's looking for a lost little boy?"

She said, "Oh, yes, I was, but he's here now!"

I said, "Thank God!" I said, "Two boys came by and told everyone they could that a lady was looking for her little boy, so you have a lot of people looking for him right now."

She said, "Oh, my God! I'm so sorry!"

I said, "Don't be sorry! It's great you found him. I'll let everybody I told about him know that he's back home."

She said, "God bless those two boys.." Then she said, "He's just in kindergarten and was supposed to get off the school bus at a certain time, but he didn't. When I called the school, I was told he had been let off on 48th Street -- but that wasn't right -- he actually stayed on the bus but it didn't stop at his stop... so the bus driver called them to let them know she would bring him by later than usual."

I said, "Fantastic. I love happy endings, and I can't wait to tell the others!"

She said, "Thank you so much!!"

I said, "We were all happy to help -- we were all very worried for you and about him."

So then I retraced my routes and let everybody know he had been found and was fine.

It turns out we have an unofficial Neighborhood Watch that works GREAT when there's an emergency. People turned out at a moment's notice to help look for a little boy none of us knew.

Fabulous!