An autistic teenager took the bus home Friday morning after authorities issued an Amber Alert saying the car he’d been inside was stolen from outside a Jack in the Box in Paramount, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The boy, 17-year-old Frankie Barboa was in the back seat of a Honda Civic that was left running in a parking lot at 6601 Alondra Blvd. when the car was stolen just before midnight Thursday, sheriff’s Lt. Charles Calderaro said at a press conference broadcast by local TV stations.
Authorities sent the Amber Alert around 3:30 a.m. Friday, and about five hours later, someone called investigators to say the car was parked outside their house about two miles away from the Jack in the Box, Calderaro said.
Minutes after that call, Frankie’s family members got word that Frankie had returned home by himself, according to Calderaro.
Frankie told detectives that the woman who stole the car “was kind to him and didn’t harm him in any way,” Calderaro said.
After she parked the car, Frankie got out and took the bus about 10 miles back to his home, according to authorities.
“He’s doing really well, amazingly, and the family members — I spoke to them personally, and they said they’re just thanking God that he is safe and he’s at home now,” Calderaro said.
The family had been unsure if Frankie would be able to navigate public transportation if he managed to get away from the suspect, according to Calderaro.
He’d been using it over the last few months, but Frankie has the mental capacity of about a 7- to 12-year-old, Calderaro said.
Frankie was in the car charging an electronic device when it was stolen, according to authorities.
His adult sister, who is his caretaker and was working at the Jack in the Box, had briefly left Frankie inside the car alone when she returned to find the vehicle gone, Calderaro said.
“It was a short period of time,” Calderaro said, “nothing’s indicating that there was any neglect.”
Authorities are still looking for the person who stole the car.
Calderaro said investigators don’t believe the person ever intended to kidnap Frankie.
“I think it was a crime of opportunity, and it was basically a stolen vehicle,” Calderaro said. “The suspect saw the opportunity and probably realized after the fact that Frankie was in the back seat.”
