Boy is found by accident

By Shaun Inguanzo
A POLICE hunt for a missing Springvale South autistic boy ended this week after he was accidentally found by a cousin strolling through inner Melbourne.
Pierre Inthavong, 14, this week sparked a police appeal for help in locating his whereabouts when he left Springvale Library, caught a train to Flinders Street, and spent more than 24 hours in the city without food and sleep.
Pierre, who is autistic, was last seen at 4pm on Saturday, 18 March while returning a book to the library, before he went missing and was later found by his cousin near the Crown Casino complex at 11pm on Sunday, 19 March.
His mother, Ladawan Inthavong, said she was so distressed she could not sleep the night of Pierre’s disappearance.
It was not the first time Pierre has failed to return home, she said, but it was the longest period he had been gone for and it prompted the family to report his absence to the police.
“I felt really bad,” she said.
“When he was gone I didn’t sleep all night, I was just hoping he would come home.
“I didn’t know he had gone to the city.”
Pierre, who attends Emerson School, is described as quiet, and Mrs Inthavong said he would not have spoken to people in Melbourne which would have made him more difficult to locate.
But in a freak coincidence 24 hours after he had gone missing, Mrs Inthavong said her nephew, Noyng Toumngeun, was near the Crown Casino complex with his girlfriend and noticed Pierre.
“He didn’t even know my son was lost,” she said.
Mr Toumngeun contacted the Inthavongs and Pierre was immediately returned to his family with the help of the police.
When she asked Pierre why he travelled to the city, he said he was bored.
“He said he is bored at home and wanted to look around everywhere (in the city).”
Among his travels, Pierre visited several video games arcades to pursue his gaming passion.
“He was never scared,” she said.
Mrs Inthavong said her son – in a typical autistic manner – walked nonchalantly inside upon his return, did not speak about his adventure, and watched television immediately after his return.