ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. — A Triad family is relieved after a teen is back home after going missing for more than 24 hours.
The 17-year-old with a cognitive impairment disappeared from his Alamance County home early New Year’s Day.
A neighbor found him less than a mile from his home Monday. The family said they hesitated to report the teen missing, believing they needed to wait a certain amount of time.
WFMY News 2's Amber Lake spoke with law enforcement to clear up the misconception.
It's a misconception that a lot of people believe. You have to wait 24 hours before filing a Missing Person’s report.
That is incorrect.
Thankfully, in this situation, the teen was found and is now home safe, but it could've been a completely different story.
"We are just happy he's home. We are very blessed 2023 is off to a great start,” his cousin Alan Capps expressed.
That's when an Alamance County family began counting their blessings.
“He hugged all of us and told us that he missed us. He said he was sorry that he had gotten lost,” Capps continued.
24 hours earlier, the mood was different when 17-year-old Cody Brammer went missing, around 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
“It was panic. It was foggy out. A little cool. Just a lot of nervousness. I've grown up around here, and I was also scared to be in the woods here, so I think it was just a lot of fear,” Capps explained.
The teen has a cognitive impairment and his family jumped in quickly to try and find him.
“We started driving. We went down the woods first. We went down to the creek. There's a creek that runs along the property. We went down the roads around the surrounding areas,” Capps said.
After hours of searching, the family reported him missing around 1:30 p.m., thinking they had waited the correct amount. However, the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office says no matter what, you should not wait to report anyone missing.
“If you are a parent if you are a grandparent babysitting if you have an elderly adult whoever you are responsible for as far as providing care, and that individual is missing, immediately call," Byron Tucker, Director of Communications at the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office explained.
Anytime a loved one or someone you know is missing, call the police and file a report. It's never too early to report someone as missing. The sooner, the better.