Buena Park : Diabetic Boy Found Not Far From Home

A 10-year-old diabetic boy missing since late Saturday afternoon was found early Monday wandering near the entrance to Knott’s Berry Farm, about a mile from his home, police said. Shane Bradley Burns was found unharmed and in good spirits about 6:30 a.m. by a Knott’s security guard.

He was taken to Humana Hospital West in Anaheim for observation and later in the day was released to his parents.

He apparently ran away from home about 4 p.m. Saturday after he was disciplined by his parents, Police Officer Rich McMillen said. He slipped out of the house when his 15-year-old brother, who had been baby-sitting, went to the corner market.

Shane spent Saturday and Sunday nights in a vacant house nearby, McMillen said. “Apparently they put him on restriction, and there were some other family problems, and he took off,” McMillen said. The boy, who has run away from home before, lives with his mother and stepfather, Virginia and Danny Figueroa, in the 7300 block of Santa Elena Street.

If Burns had not been found by Monday night, his physician warned that he could have been in great physical danger because of his diabetic condition. Needing an insulin shot every 12 hours, the boy had gone nearly 40 hours without a injection.

“There was a growing risk that he could lapse into a diabetic coma,” McMillen said.