Marcus Tessier, 13, wandered away from his Tucson hometown. The next day, the autistic boy was found in New Mexico.
A 13-year-old autistic boy who wandered away from his Tucson hometown and was missing for nearly a day has been found safe at a New Mexico Walmart.
How he got there is a mystery to his family, whose emotions went from despair to delight in less than 24 hours.
Marcus Tessier, who is also non-verbal, was picked up at Walmart in Deming, New Mexico, and taken to a hospital to be checked. State police posted his photo on Facebook Tuesday because they had no idea who he was, or where he belonged.
"The Deming Police Department is asking for the public's assistance in identifying the unknown male in the photograph. The male is approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs about 230 pounds. He was in the area of 1021 East Pine Street, at the Walmart in Deming, NM. If anyone has any information please contact the Deming Police Department at (575) 546-3011," the post read.
Social media users and Arizona authorities soon made the connection, and Tessier was reunited with his overjoyed relatives.
Though they still aren't sure how he managed to travel 200 miles in such a short period.
“There is a possibility that he hopped on a train,” his aunt, Helene Desmond, told KOLD-TV. "There is also a possibility that a semi or a driver was stopping to get Dunkin Donuts and saw a vulnerable person.”
However Tessier got to New Mexico, his family is just glad he's home.
“We’re so lucky and blessed that he came back to us given the circumstances and the odds,” his mother, Renee Desmond, told the station.
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