Roman Heilman, 6, Who Has Autism, Walked Out of the Kentucky Woods Onto a Horse Trail With a Small Dog After Two Cold Nights Missing

The trail riders had been out for hours when a small boy stepped out of the brush in front of them. He was 6 years old, he had a little dog at his side, and he had been missing in the eastern Kentucky woods for two cold nights.

Roman Heilman, who has autism, was found alive in Lawrence County, near the Kentucky-West Virginia line, after hundreds of volunteers joined the search, according to Good News Network, which drew on reporting by the Lexington Herald-Leader. Lawrence County’s emergency management director called the outcome “nothing short of a miracle.”

A Sunday Afternoon, Then Two Nights Outside

Roman was reported missing in the late afternoon of Sunday, Nov. 1. The land around his home is wooded and mountainous.

By the time searchers found him, he had spent two cold nights in the woods.

He was not completely alone. When rescuers reached him, a small dog was with him.

The Search Across Lawrence County

Hundreds of volunteers joined the effort, and the search used horse teams, drones and motor vehicles to cover the steep ground. On Tuesday, volunteers set out at first light and searched for hours, covering about 14 miles of wooded, mountainous terrain, according to the Good News Network account.

Jacob Mullins, a member of a local horse trail-riding group, was among the riders combing the hills. He later told the Herald-Leader that he wondered whether the sound of the vehicles had frightened Roman into hiding before he was found.

That worry matches what search experts warn about. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children says children with autism may hide from rescuers or loud noises, may try to run again once found, and, if they are nonspeaking, may not respond when searchers call their name.

The Moment on the Horse Trail

When Roman finally appeared, he came to the riders on his own. “He just walked right out of the bushes onto a horse trail,” Mullins told the Herald-Leader.

Roman grabbed onto the leg of the lead rescuer and would not let go. He was scratched, but he was alive. Before he was carried off the hill, he ate a banana and drank some water.

Mullins said the riders found him about a mile and a half from his house. Accounts of the distance differ slightly: the opening of the Good News Network story put the spot about a half-mile from the home, while Mullins put it at about a mile and a half.

Travis Hughes, director of Lawrence County Emergency Management, posted a statement on Facebook praising the volunteers and responders. Hughes wrote that what happened over the course of the search was “nothing short of a miracle,” and he gave thanks to God for it. He said he had “never been more proud” of the community.

A photo of Roman after the rescue was shared with local news through WOWK 13, which also aired a video segment on the search.

Why Children With Autism Wander

For parents of children with autism, the hours Roman was missing describe a fear many of them live with. The National Autism Association, citing a study in the journal Pediatrics, says about half, or 49%, of children with autism attempt to leave a safe environment, nearly four times the rate of their brothers and sisters without autism.

The association also reports that more than one-third of children with autism who wander are never or rarely able to say their name, address or phone number.

NCMEC says children may wander to seek stimulation, to reach water or small enclosed spaces, to get to something tied to a special interest such as roadways, trains or fire trucks, or to escape overwhelming sights, sounds or crowds. High-stress, social or transitional events are common triggers, and it can happen with any caregiver in any setting.

The National Autism Association’s figures show that nearly one-third of wandering incidents happen at school, and nearly half happen while a child is supervised by someone other than a parent. And 40% of parents say they lose sleep because of the fear that their child will slip away.

Water is the biggest danger. In a six-year study by the association, accidental drowning accounted for 71% of deaths after a child with autism wandered. The association also cites a 2017 Columbia University finding that children with autism are 160 times as likely to die from drowning as other children.

What Families Can Use at Home

The National Autism Association offers a free Big Red Safety Box for families of people with autism who are at risk of wandering or bolting. The kit includes two wireless door and window alarms, an engraved RoadID bracelet or shoe tag, four stop-sign stickers for doors and windows, a safety alert window cling for a car or home, and a Child ID Kit from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The box also comes with a Be REDy booklet that includes a caregiver checklist, a family wandering emergency plan, a profile form to give to first responders, and a sample letter families can use to bring wandering into a child’s IEP at school. The association says each family can receive one box while supplies last, that families who already received one are not eligible again, that processing can take up to three weeks, and that a $27 donation covers a box for another family. The page currently lists the box as out of stock, with a newsletter sign-up to be notified when it returns.

NCMEC’s own advice for caregivers includes swim lessons through programs such as those at the Y and the American Red Cross, ID bands or cards that tell first responders a child is on the autism spectrum, a 911 script written in advance to explain a child’s needs, and a letter to neighbors explaining how to help. Its 24-hour line is 1-800-843-5678.

Beyond the box, which the National Autism Association says it has shipped to more than 70,000 families since 2011, the association points families to a Personal Emergency Profile sheet that holds the information responders need in a search, a Meet The Police program for introducing a child to local officers before an emergency, wandering quick tips, and drowning-prevention materials on its water safety page.

Roman’s rescue echoes other recent searches with happy endings, including the Louisiana deputy who waded neck-deep into a Carencro pond to pull out a missing 8-year-old girl with autism. And parents like Las Vegas mom Stephanie Chung have turned their own families’ experience into ways to help classmates understand autism.

For Roman’s family and the people of Lawrence County, the search ended the way everyone hoped. After two nights in the woods, Roman walked out onto the trail on his own and held on to the first rescuer who reached him.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: Nyttend – Public domain/Wikimedia Commons