Heartbreaking Update on Missing Autistic 8-Year-Old Boy in Texas

The body of an 8-year-old autistic boy in Texas was found in a lake early Sunday morning after a desperate search for the missing child.

An AMBER Alert was issued for Ryan Akagbusi, a non-verbal autistic child after he was last seen at 4:56 a.m. on Saturday, leaving his Richmond home in Fort Bend County wearing a pink shirt with an iguana design.

Surveillance cameras captured Akagbusi walking with shoes but later showed him around 5:37 a.m. running barefoot.

“I saw his shoes on the road,” the boy’s mother, Admorowa Oladind, told KHOU. “I picked up his shoes and the camera sighted him just after in the place where I picked up his shoes – running.”

Search efforts, led by Texas EquuSearch, K-9 units, helicopters, drones, and a dive team, concentrated on nearby bodies of water.

Authorities recovered the boy’s body shortly before 7 a.m. Sunday from a pond at a park in the Lake Mont Bend area, near his last known location.

Community members are speaking out about the tragedy.

“I’m heartbroken; a child is gone this morning,” neighborhood resident Porsche Smith told KHOU. “I woke up this morning, and it was the first thing I thought about. Everyone needs to wrap their arms around you [the mother] right now because I cannot imagine.”

Despite extensive efforts to locate him safely, the outcome is a heartbreaking reminder of the dangers faced by children with autism.

Newsweek reached out to the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Department for more details.

Autism and Drowning Risks

Newsweek interviewed renowned American psychologist Ami Kim, who has over 30 years of experience studying autism.

He suggested a potential link between water attraction and elopement behavior in individuals with autism. In this context, elopement refers to instances where individuals with autism escape, run, or wander away from their caregivers.

“Children and adolescents who have that problem tend to run into roads or bodies of water,” Klin said. “Individuals with this profile have double the risk of premature death compared to their typical peers.”

The National Autism Association reports children with autism are 160 times more likely to die from drowning than the general pediatric population.

“Individuals with autism do not gravitate to people; they gravitate to things,” Klin said. “They tend to understand things better than they understand people.”

Allie Tasche, VP of National Programs at the Autism Society of America told Newsweek there are preventive measures to ensure the safety of an autistic child.

She suggests using multiple layers of protection, such as pool fences, enclosures and door alarms on water sources. Additionally, employ a water watcher or stay in areas with lifeguards on duty.

GPS technology can track at-risk individuals, and life jackets should be worn, particularly by those who are not confident swimmers. Individuals at risk can also wear identification bracelets or pins.

According to the Autism Society of Florida, 99 children with autism died from drowning in 2023, 94 in 2022, and 99 in 2021.

Do you have a story we should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story and autism related deaths? Contact Li******@******ek.com.