Missing Boy Found Safe In West Hollywood

BURBANK (CBS) — A 15-year-old boy with autism, who had gone missing after boarding an airport shuttle bus from Bob Hope International Airport in Burbank, has been found safe in West Hollywood.

Cameron James Smith was onboard a Delta Connection flight to Salt Lake City when the plane returned to the gate at 10:30 a.m. for unknown reasons. He then exited the plane with other passengers and later left the airport.

Multiple agencies throughout the day had conducted a search for Smith.

The teen had been traveling alone, according to airport spokesman Victor Gill.

Smith, who lives in Pasadena, was on his way to Salt Lake City where he attends a special school. His mother had gotten him safely to the gate this morning where he boarded a SkyWest Airlines flight, which is a Delta connection.

"At some point the aircraft turned around with some kind of a mechanical problem and came back to the terminal. The problem was such that the plane was emptied moving the passengers back into the terminal and this boy at that point in time was unsupervised and left the airport," Gill said.

"He walked out of the hold-room area, through the baggage claim and out onto the street here. He got on an airport parking van and just rode around the roadway circuit and exited that van at the main entrance to the airport, which is at Hollywood Way and Thorton Avenue."

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority had been notified of the situation around noon Wednesday.

Police from LA, Glendale, Burbank and airport police all aided in the search.

The 15-year-old was found about 6 p.m. said Brian Lutz of the Sheriff's West Hollywood Station.

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