Boy with autism stable after being pulled from creek in New Jersey park

PALISADES PARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- A child who was reported missing was pulled from a creek in New Jersey Friday afternoon.

Bergen County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Anthony Cureton tells Eyewitness News that the approximately 8-year-old boy, who has autism, had wandered off from his family in Overpeck County Park Friday afternoon. He was reported missing just before 5 p.m. and was found in the Overpeck Creek a short time later.

His family reported him missing through the Project Lifesaver, which is a search-and-rescue program specifically designed for at-risk individuals who are prone to the life-threatening behavior of wandering.

At around the same time, somebody in a nearby building saw what they thought to be a body in the creek. That person called 911, and officers from the Bergen County Sheriff's Office and the Palisades Park Police Department responded.

They pulled the boy from the creek and started CPR, and the child was revived at the scene and taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in Paterson. He is listed in stable condition.

Overpeck Creek is a tributary of the Hackensack River, approximately 8 miles long.