Staff Report
A 10-year-old autistic boy died Sunday after wandering away from a southern Cabarrus County residential care facility for the disabled.
An official with RHA Howell Care Centers called the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office around 9:15 a.m. Sunday to report that the child had walked away from the organization’s Clear Creek Center at 11950 Howell Center Drive. The center is off N.C. 24-27 near the line dividing Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties.
Facility staff, law enforcement and first responders searched the area, a Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office press release said.
A Howell Center staff member found the boy at 10:40 a.m. in a small branch that feeds into a pond on property adjacent to the center, the press release said.
After administering CPR, Cabarrus County EMS took the child to Carolinas Medical Center-University in Charlotte.
The boy died at the hospital Sunday afternoon, said Missy Jones, chief operating officer of Howell Care Centers.
Officials did not release the cause of death.
The Sheriff’s Office is investigating and Howell Care Centers is conducting its own internal investigation, Jones said.
In an e-mail to the Post, Jones said efforts are focused on supporting the boy’s family and the staff at the center.