Lost Boy, 8, Had Fallen Asleep at Neighbor’s

A search for a missing 8-year-old tourist in Huntington Beach ended happily when the boy was found in the next-door neighbor’s home, where he’d fallen asleep on a couch, mistaking it for the house where his family was staying, police said Tuesday.

The boy was awakened by the sound of a helicopter circling overhead and walked into the bedroom where he presumed his parents were sleeping, Huntington Beach Lt. Bruce Kelly said.

The startled resident tried to stay calm and walked the lost boy outside to look for his family. There they ran into police, who took the boy to the correct house, Kelly said.

The confusion began after a daylong family trek to Universal Studios. As family members were unloading souvenirs from the car, Michael Lopes, who had slept through the 45-minute ride, was the first one to wander inside the house in the 1900 block of Seahorse Lane at about 11 p.m. But it turned out he’d opened the unlocked front door of neighbor Dorothy Fredman and fell asleep on her sofa.

Family members searched frantically for the boy in the gated condominium complex and police brought in bloodhounds to search for his scent.

“Everything was so bizarre,” said Ed Lopes, the boy’s father. “You don’t expect to walk from your car to the house and lose your son within 30 feet.”

Fredman, 81, who is hard of hearing, told police she locked her front door before she went to bed, but didn’t notice Michael. She was awakened shortly before 3 a.m. by Michael tugging on her blanket, thinking he was in his parents’ room.

“He knew exactly which room he was going into because the floor plans were identical,” said Ed Lopes, Michael’s father.

“She asked, ‘What are you doing here?’ ” the father said. “He said, ‘I live here.’ ”

Kelly said Fredman took the frightened boy outside to look for his parents. They opened the door to find a crowd of people Fredman thought were having a party. But when she approached, Fredman discovered they were police officers searching for the youngster. Michael was quickly reunited with his parents, who were awaiting word on his whereabouts inside the neighboring condominium.

“We’re not proud, but we’re happy with the ending,” said Ed Lopes, whose family will return to Virginia later this week. “It was a stupid thing. We had a full day and some.”