3-Year-Old Boy With Autism Missing After Family Says He Fell From Third-Story Window

An Ohio community is desperate to find a toddler with autism who vanished after an apparent fall from a third-story apartment window.

Braylen Noble, 3, was reported missing from his Toledo home on Friday around noon, according to a press release from FBI Cleveland. His mother Dajnae Cox had called 911 dispatchers that afternoon, claiming that he fell from a window in their third-floor apartment, local outlet ABC 13 reports.

Noble is nonverbal and has autism.

Since the toddler vanished, police, fire, park officers and volunteers have been conducting searches of nearby buildings and dumpsters, according to the Toledo Police Department. Drones, a water rescue team and K-9s have also been deployed in the search for Noble. Over the weekend, a search party reportedly found a tent with a blanket inside that appeared to have blood on it, according to ABC 13. However, the child’s mother did not recognize the blanket. 

The police department addressed rumors that Noble had been found in their press release, stating those whisperings were false. They noted that some in the public have confused Noble with another missing child. At a Sunday vigil, relatives also asked the public to stop spreading rumors. 

"Been so much negativity on Facebook about the mom,” Noble’s great aunt Joy Goings told NBC 24. “We don't care about that. We just care about the little baby. We don't care about what's going on. We just want to come in together and pray and lift her up. We don't know what the situation is, we just want to keep her in prayer.”

Cox joined a volunteer search team on Monday.

“If you want to just drop him off somewhere, please drop him off to the police station, you can drop him off here. Call my phone," Cox told NBC 24, pleading for her son’s safe return. "I know he's crying, I know you can't get him to stop crying. He's being picky, he's not eating and even if he's scared I won't be mad. Please just drop him off to me. I just want him home. That's it."

The search for the missing boy continues.

"We're out here for this prayer vigil to bring him safe and sound back home, or let us know where he's at," the child’s grandfather Jeffery Holloway told NBC 24. "Please. Whoever knows where he's at, please return him or put him in a safe place where we can get him. There will be no problem, just please return my grandson."

Noble was last seen wearing a red and white Mickey Mouse shirt. ‪FBI Cleveland is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to Noble’s recovery. Anyone with tips is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (419) 255-1111. Tips can be made anonymously.