Ryan Barrett
HAINES FALLS, N.Y. (WPIX) -
The body of a teenaged autistic boy from Long Island has been found in a Catskills Lake.
The family of 14-year old Ryan Barrett reported him missing Thursday night at the North South Lake Campground in Haines Falls. Barrett was accompanied at the Campground by his 6-year-old brother, Kevin, and their father, David Barrett, 43 on Thursday afternoon. It was to be their annual father-son camping trip.
While the group was setting up tents, Barrett wandered to a shallow creek about 20 yards away to play. "He was there one minute and gone the next," his father said.
When Barrett's family members and fellow campers reported him missing around 7:30 p.m., the search began--and was fruitless. State police arrived at the scene, and searched for him overnight.
According to New York State Police Investigator William Fitzmaurice, Barrett's body was found by State Police Divers at 10 a.m Friday, face-down under a culvert leading from the creek into North Lake. The 70-acre lake is one of two at the campsite.
"A lot of autistic children like to wander," said Cindy Hermann with the Autism Society of America, "The child's there one minute happily playing and the next minute you look around and they're gone."
Meanwhile David Barrett claimed his son did not wander off, but rather, suffered from a seizure.
Barrett's body is now at Saint Peter's Hospital in Albany. Greene County authorities say an autopsy will be performed, but that no foul play is suspected.
The family of 14-year old Ryan Barrett reported him missing Thursday night at the North South Lake Campground in Haines Falls. Barrett was accompanied at the Campground by his 6-year-old brother, Kevin, and their father, David Barrett, 43 on Thursday afternoon. It was to be their annual father-son camping trip.
While the group was setting up tents, Barrett wandered to a shallow creek about 20 yards away to play. "He was there one minute and gone the next," his father said.
When Barrett's family members and fellow campers reported him missing around 7:30 p.m., the search began--and was fruitless. State police arrived at the scene, and searched for him overnight.
According to New York State Police Investigator William Fitzmaurice, Barrett's body was found by State Police Divers at 10 a.m Friday, face-down under a culvert leading from the creek into North Lake. The 70-acre lake is one of two at the campsite.
"A lot of autistic children like to wander," said Cindy Hermann with the Autism Society of America, "The child's there one minute happily playing and the next minute you look around and they're gone."
Meanwhile David Barrett claimed his son did not wander off, but rather, suffered from a seizure.
Barrett's body is now at Saint Peter's Hospital in Albany. Greene County authorities say an autopsy will be performed, but that no foul play is suspected.
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