Mar. 25, 2025 4:40p
(WGTD)---The actions of a couple of good Samaritans who came to the rescue of a lost six-year-old boy in Kenosha last weekend generated both praise and questions.
The boy apparently walked away from a large family gathering that was taking place Saturday evening at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church on 30th Ave. The boy’s disappearance went unnoticed for some 25 minutes.
A frantic search ensued by worried family members and friends. At about 7:45, an aunt of the boy put out an alert on her Facebook page, according to police department spokesman Josh Hecker who said police were notified about 30 minutes later. Numerous squads were dispatched.
But unbeknownst to officers and the family, a man and his son who were out driving and had learned of the disappearance via the aunt’s Facebook post had already located the child about five blocks to the east on busy Roosevelt Rd.
Instead of immediately notifying police or responding to the Facebook post, the good Samaritans offered the child a ride. While unable to say exactly where he’d been, the boy successfully directed them to his family’s home, located blocks away on 39th Ave.
The trio arrived to find the house empty and locked. They boy mentioned that a first-floor window was routinely left open for emergency access. So up and in he went.
Mission having been accomplished, the rescuers left.
But well over an hour had elapsed before word filtered down to the searchers that the boy was safe and sound at home.
“You can’t make this up,” said Hecker in relaying the story to a reporter Tuesday.
Questioned later by police, the man who found the boy said he didn’t want to possibly get the child's parents in trouble by getting police involved. He apparently was unaware that the department was already heavily involved.
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