‘We are eternally grateful;’ Beavercreek teen missing for hours found safe, reunited with family

BEAVERCREEK — A Beavercreek teen with autism was found Monday morning and is safe after he was missing since late Sunday night, according to Beavercreek police.

Peyton Wittke, 15, had been missing since around 10 p.m. Sunday night, walked about ten miles, and slept in the woods, police told News Center 7.

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“He had walked all night, found some shelter in the woods for a little a while,” said Captain Scott Molmar of the Beavercreek police. “(He) ended up all the way down on Indian Ripple (Road) up around the area of Beavercreek High School.”

He was reunited with his father Monday morning along Indian Ripple Road.

“Thank you all so very much for finding him,” Tom Wittke said in a statement written on Beavercreek Police’s Facebook pate Monday.

“Things could have turned out differently, and we are eternally grateful,” Wittke said. “I hope the entire community knows how much of a blessing you all are to them.”

Beavercreek police launched a drone and called search crews but they say it was a social media post that help them locate the missing teenager.

We’ll update this story as we learn more.

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