Missing five-year-old autistic boy rescued from pond after escaping home

A five-year-old boy with autism was rescued from a pond after he wandered away from home in Florida on Tuesday, 6 August.

Volusia Sheriff's Office said deputies responded to a report of a missing child around 7:30pm at a home on Valmont Lane, Deltona.

The child's father told deputies son escaped the house through a second-story door, which set off an alarm installed by the family as part of several security measures.

Police said they chedked bodies of water nearby as they knew the youngster "was attracted to water."

The boy was spotted hanging onto a log in a pond and was carried to dry land where he was medically cleared and returned to his family.