All area residents are asked to be on the alert for a 9-year-old boy with autism who is lost and alone in the dark woods of coastal Boothbay as of this posting (1:20 a.m. on Fri., Aug. 6), according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO).
Emergency personnel from throughout midcoast Maine are using dogs, thermal imaging cameras and all of their training and experience to locate Bradley (last name not released), according to LCSO spokesperson Mark Bridgham.
Bradley is described as very tall and robust for his age, at about 4′-11″ tall and 105-pounds with reddish-brown hair, and was last seen wearing a gray shirt bearing a logo for the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team and black shorts.
Bradley may respond to someone calling his name by standing still, but he may not come over to the person calling him. Anyone seeing Bradley is encouraged to call 911 immediately, before approaching him.
Deputies from the LCSO initiated the search for Bradley after a report was received at approximately 9 p.m. that the boy was missing from a residence on Ben’s Landing Rd. in Boothbay. A K-9 unit from the LCSO was dispatched to the scene as well as several deputies and a Maine Warden. A short time later the Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency (LCEMA), the Lincoln County Search and Rescue Team (LCSAR), the United States Coast Guard (USCG), and the Maine State Police (MSP) were on scene, according to LCSO.
As a special note to area residents, LCSO spokesperson Deputy Bridgham warned that USCG vessels were using parachute flares to light up the coastal area and that while these flares light the night sky as though it was daylight, there should be no need for concern about their use.
At approximately 1 a.m. a call went out to firefighters in Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, and Southport to respond to the command post at the Boothbay Fire Station on Rt. 27 to assemble for a possible ground search, according to the LCEMA.
The MSP has also augmented the search effort with an additional K-9 unit, according to the LCSO.
The Lincoln County News website will continue to follow this situation and report any additional information here as soon as it is available.
