Missing 10-year-old boy found safe after search by Fort Worth police, concerned residents
A missing 10-year-old boy has been found safe after an almost 15-hour search by police and community members, police confirmed about 11:20 a.m. Wednesday.
Fort Worth police and dozens of community members had been searching overnight for the missing child, Joseph Brandenburg, who had last been seen in the 10100 block of Lone Eagle Drive around 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Police said a couple driving in the area recognized Joseph from a NextDoor app post they’d seen earlier in the day and called 911. They did not know the names of the couple.
Police said Joseph, who ran away after his father caught him reading a comic book he wasn’t supposed to have, was found under a billboard near the intersection of Westpoint Boulevard and Interstate 820.
Officer Tracy Carter, a spokesman for the Fort Worth Police Department, said he not hurt when he was found but was likely scared to return home after running away.
“I just thank God he’s back,” said the boy’s father, who declined to give his name. He expressed thanks to neighbors and friends in the community.
“As soon as he pulled up in the driveway, I opened the door and seen my uncle crying and I knew that he was home safe,” cousin Ramiro Zamarripa said. He said Joseph was not hurt.
“I think he was just frightened. Fifteen hours alone in the woods, I’d be pretty frightened too. With no shoes on ... no food, no drink.”
Carter said the family is recovering from the trauma of having a missing child but they’re also relieved to have him home.
Joseph had last been seen leaving his home wearing a gray muscle T-shirt and black and white basketball shorts with no shoes, according to a news release from police.
His home is in Fort Worth, west of White Settlement and east of the Tejas Trails neighborhood, about two miles from where he was found.
Police and members of Fort Worth Memories, a historical preservation group that engages in community service, were searching the area between Academy Boulevard, Chapel Creek Boulevard, and White Settlement Road.
Marion “Tiger” Pipkin, a member helping police coordinate with Fort Worth Memories, said the group had between 75 and 80 people assisting in the search.
Other community members were out in droves searching for Joseph, calling his name and checking storm drains, trash cans and overgrown grass and looking into back yards and the windows of any abandoned houses.
Police used a helicopter, dogs and horses to assist in the search.
Lauren Torres had been searching since Tuesday night, when she and her friend saw a post on a White Settlement community watch Facebook page.
“There were some people out here searching with their whole family last night,” Torres said. “Kids, parents and grandparents, the whole family.”
Carter said this event is a powerful reminder to parents to work out ways to communicate with children in the case they become upset enough to try to run away from home.
“This could be one of your kids,” Carter said. “Just make sure you do talk to them and you do have an understanding so that if they do try this, you do want to be able to talk them out of it.”
This story was originally published May 19, 2021 at 9:20 AM.