Missing Boy, 7, Found Near Skid Row Miles From Home

LOS ANGELES, CA — The 7 year-old boy who went missing from Arlington Heights Tuesday evening was found Wednesday afternoon in Skid Row, over five miles from home, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The boy, Derek Clay, "was located, in good health, and will be reunited with his family," the LAPD wrote in a tweet around 3 p.m. Wednesday.

The circumstances of his disappearance are unclear at this time.

Derek was last seen at around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in the courtyard of the apartment complex where he lives with his grandfather and teenage brother, in the neighborhood between Olympic and Pico boulevards, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Derek's grandfather, who for the last six months has had custody of the child, unsuccessfully tried to find Derek himself after noticing the boy went missing. The grandfather called police to report Derek missing about five hours later, LAPD Officer Mike Lopez told reporters at a briefing earlier Wednesday.

Police deployed bloodhounds Tuesday night to try to track Derek, which was unsuccessful. Lopez said investigators located Derek's biological mother and were "speaking to her to see if she knows the whereabouts of Derek."

The grandfather, Donald Lewis, told KTLA earlier Wednesday it was unlike Derek to be gone from home so long, even though he does often leave to visit friends.

Lewis said at the time he called the boy's cell phone and somebody answered, but quickly hung up. The phone was then going directly to voicemail, he said. He said he was still trying to reach the boy's mother.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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