By Mary O’KEEFE

An 8-year-old boy who had been missing since yesterday has been found – cold, tired but healthy.

Joshua Robb, who has severe autism, reportedly ran away from Grand View Elementary in the Twin Peaks area of Lake Arrowhead on Monday morning. Search and rescue teams from San Bernardino began searching in the wooded area around the school. The boy had little speech ability and was not used to strangers.

Many search and rescue teams were called in to help. Doug Cramoline and Mike Leum of Montrose Search and Rescue responded and arrived at 7 a.m. this morning to aid in the search.

“While we were driving up there we saw a [huge] lightening show. When we got there it was torrential rain, crazy rain,” Leum said.

That rain not only added another element of danger for the missing boy, who was dressed in a polo-type shirt, shorts and sandals, but made it difficult for rescuers to follow any of the boy’s tracks.

“We were paired with a rescue member from San Bernardino. At one point we thought we saw the boy but he ran [the other way],” Leum said. “Doug [Cramoline] said he heard the boy respond to his calls.”

The team worked toward where it had seen the youngster. Another team had been working the other side of a search area and they found the boy, Leum said.

The boy was found at 2:20 p.m. Tuesday.

“He was found about a mile north of his school,” Leum said.

Rescuers found his shirt in the area on Monday during the search. When he was found he was reportedly wearing only shorts. He was tired and cold but in good health.

  Mary Okeefe