Teen with special needs found wandering in Wheeling with help from police database

WHEELING, Ill. (WLS) — A 14-year-old boy with special needs is safe after wandering away from his home in the frigid cold.

Urijah Heard, a non-verbal boy, went missing from his apartment. His mother, Trey Briggs, woke up to find him gone and the door unlocked. Luckily, a school bus driver saw Urijah and contacted the Wheeling Police Department.

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Thanks to the efforts of an empathetic stranger and a unique database created by a police sergeant who is also a parent to a child with special needs, Urijah was quickly located and brought back home safely.

Heard had not wandered far, but temperatures were below zero, and she said he was just in a t-shirt and underwear.

The incident highlights the importance of community awareness and collaboration in ensuring the safety of individuals with special needs. It also serves as a reminder of the impact of empathy and innovation in modern policing efforts.

“The fact that he stopped and put him on the bus is amazing to me. A miracle to me,” Briggs said. “He didn’t just call the police either. He stopped. He gave him time to warm up. And I think he saved my son’s feet, because he’s stepping directly in ice, directly in snow. His hands have blisters. It was freezing. And this man put him on the bus and waited. You really don’t find a lot of humans like that.”

Police were then able to identify Heard almost immediately because the teen had just been registered in a program started by Sgt. Richard Giltner called “Return Home Safe.”

The database includes children with special needs, with photos and information submitted by their parents, for situations specifically like this one.

“I immediately told the officers that were responding… name, birthday, address,” Sgt. Gitner said. “One said, “Hey. I think this is who it is.’ In minutes, we knew who it was.”

Sgt. Giltner created the Return Home Safe program in 2022 because he is the father of a teen with special needs. This was its first big success.

The bus driver did not want to comment, but Heard’s mother said she is eternally grateful.