Local News in Brief : Buena Park : 8-Year-Old Shows Up After 8-Hour Search

When an 8-year-old boy didn’t return home from school, his mother called the Buena Park Police Department. Sixteen officers were sent out on a futile eight-hour search that didn’t end until daybreak Thursday, police said.

But this potential tragedy ended happily when the boy, Roberto GuiterrezQ showed up at his home in the 6400 block of Kingman Avenue at 7 a.m. Thursday, police said. Roberto had spent the night with a friend, but had failed to tell his mother of his plans, police said.

Police Officer Richard McMillen said the saga of the missing child began at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday when Roberto and his 9-year-old brother became separated as they walked home from Gilbert Elementary School in the 7200 block of 8th Street.

At 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, Roberto’s mother, Maria Guiterrez, 29, decided to turn to the police for help.

About an hour later, 16 police officers, including four who are bilingual, began scouring a 3-square-mile area around Gilbert School.

The search was not called off until the boy returned home.

“He went to his friend’s house and said his mother was letting him stay overnight,” McMillen said.

Were the officers who stayed up half the night upset?

“No,” McMillen said, “it’s all part of the job.”