JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville police announced early Tuesday morning that a missing 11-year-old boy was found safe.
The boy had last been seen about 11 p.m. Saturday at the Hilltop Village Apartments in the Moncrief, where he lives.
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Investigators said they later learned he ran away from home early Sunday and was possibly picked up by a known individual or family member.
Police said the boy is a foster child and the search stretched to Gainesville, where he has biological relatives, none of whom have legal custody or guardianship of him. News4Jax has been told the boy is now adopted.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating along with the Gainesville Police Department and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, announced Monday night that officers were trying to find Keavon’s biological parents, both of whom live in Alachua County.
“They are considered potential persons of interest in an interference with custody investigation," JSO said.
The Missing Child Alert was first issued about 9:10 a.m. Sunday by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Officers spent much of Sunday combing through the Northwest Jacksonville neighborhood, asking residents if they know Keavon or his whereabouts. One officer could be seen checking a home to see if security cameras outside the house might have captured Keavon leaving Hilltop Village.
On Monday, people in the complex, where Keavon’s photo on missing posters are posted, were hopeful he’ll be found safe.
“Sometimes 11-year-olds want to do what they want to do, but this is something to take very seriously because there’s a child missing,” a neighbor in the apartment complex said Monday.
Just before 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, JSO said the boy was found safe.
“We continue to investigate the circumstances of this incident,” JSO said.
It’s unclear whether authorities located the boy’s parents.
The FDLE canceled the Missing Child Alert about 4 a.m. Tuesday.
