A 12-year-old autistic boy gave family members the shock of their lives yesterday evening after he wandered off from a cafeteria in Qawra to be found an hour later some 1.5 kilometres away.
A number of police units were deployed in an intensive search to locate Kyle Agius but the way he was found could not be described as anything short of divine intervention, according to his parents, Mark and Claire.
We spent 15 minutes frantically looking for him before the police were alerted
Mr Agius said that the family was enjoying some quality time at a cafeteria by the sea next to Ta’ Fra Ben. At one point, at about 5.30pm, he told his family he was leaving to get the car, which was parked some distance away in Triq il-Maskli, and pick them up since they had already walked a lot.
“I said ‘I’m off’ and Kyle must have thought that we were all leaving,” he told Times of Malta as the boy happily played with his seven-year-old sister, Amber-Lee, unaware of the commotion he had caused.
Ms Agius described her son as a cheerful, obedient boy whose autism, however, did not enable him to communicate. “I was beside myself with worry,” she says, wiping a tear from her eye. “He always waits for us. We spent 15 minutes frantically looking for him before the police were alerted. A million thoughts were racing through my mind. I feared he might have fallen into the sea. And, to make matters worse, it was getting dark.”
In the meantime, Mr Agius phoned their eldest daughter, Maia-Rhys, 14, who was at home, informing her that her brother was lost. She phoned a close friend who, in turn, called her parents who were at a retreat by the Topaz Hotel, in Triq il-Ġifen. They rushed out to find Kyle calmly walking past them at about 6.25pm. The police were immediately notified.
“It must be God’s doing. What are the chances of him being spotted that way,” Mr Agius asked.
“We are so grateful for everyone’s help,” Ms Agius added.
“And so grateful that Kyle wasn’t hurt. He must have crossed several main roads to get there. And since he can’t communicate, he has no way of explaining that he is lost.”