Missing Petaluma Boy, Mother Found In Maui: Sheriff's Office

PETALUMA, CA — A 9-year-old Petaluma area boy reported missing earlier this week was found Thursday morning in Hawaii when he and his mother —who did not have legal custody — boarded a bus in Maui, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said.

Santiago Barros was reported missing at 7 a.m. Tuesday. His father, who was granted full, legal custody of the boy Feb. 20, told authorities the last time he saw his son was at 9:30 p.m. Monday at their home in the 400 block of Marty Lane in unincorporated West Petaluma, sheriff's Sgt. Juan Valencia said.

Since then, Sonoma County Violent Crimes Unit detectives worked non-stop in the search for Santiago and his mother, 38-year-old Autumn Stone of Santa Rosa.

"At 9 a.m. (Hawaii Standard Time), a public transit driver recognized Stone and Barros, as they boarded the bus from local alerts and called the local authorities," Valencia said.

Stone was arrested and her son, who was not harmed, was taken into the custody of child welfare services, authorities said.

"Stone was booked into the Maui Community Corrections Center for child abduction," Valencia said. "She is being held on a non-citable warrant. Stone will later be extradited to Sonoma County."

The search was expanded Wednesday to include Hawaii when detectives learned Stone bought two airline tickets to Maui, the sergeant said.

After determining the pair flew out of Oakland Tuesday on a 6:55 a.m. flight and arrived in Maui at 10:18 a.m., Sonoma County sheriff's detectives secured a warrant for Stone's arrest.

Detectives then contacted the Maui Police Department and worked closely with their agency and with federal law enforcement.

"Information about the child abduction was broadcast over the news and social media outlets, which aided in finding Stone and [Santiago]," Valencia said.

According to the sheriff's office, an emergency custody order was granted Feb. 20 by a Sonoma County judge that prohibited Stone from having any contact with her son.

The Sonoma County Search-and-Rescue team responded Tuesday to search locally for the missing child, but as investigators now know, the boy and his mother were already in the air.