Elijah Bajza with Rialto officers

Missing Boy with Autism Found Living ‘Off the land,’ Surviving on Sprinkler Water and Oranges

A 13-year-old California boy missing for six days is home safe after a quick-thinking mother and daughter found him living homeless in San Bernardino

Elijah, 13, disappeared on November 14 from his foster mother’s Rialto home. His foster mother, who is also his biological aunt, told police she last saw Elijah wearing an American flag shirt while in his bed. When she checked on him later that morning, he was gone.

On Thursday, officers with the Rialto Police Department found Elijah in a field in San Bernardino, “living off the land” by drinking sprinkler water and eating oranges and lemons. A mother and her daughter who stumbled upon the boy said Elijah told her had been staying under train tracks.

The mother and daughter ended up contacting the police to help the boy, but had no idea at the time who he was. They thought they were helping out a homeless man, NBC 4 reports.

Elijah, who has the mental capacity of a 7-year-old, has been reunited with his family. Watch the full video below.

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[Feature Photo: Rialto Police]