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Hundreds join search for missing autistic child in Menifee

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A search for a missing 11-year-old autistic boy in Riverside County expanded Tuesday, with hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement officials searching the rural hills around Menifee.

More than 100 deputies from five Southern California sheriff’s departments, hundreds of local volunteers and representatives from the FBI went house to house and combed 16 square miles around Terry Dewayne Smith’s home in Menifee on Tuesday.

“He has friends in the area, that’s why we don’t believe he’s with anyone out of the area,” said Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Alberto Martinez.

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Terry was last seen in his bed Saturday night in the 33000 block of Helen Lane, Martinez said. When his mother checked on him in the morning, he was gone.

He has blond hair and blue eyes and was last seen wearing blue basketball shorts.

There’s no indication of foul play but authorities aren’t ruling it out, Martinez said. Terry does not have a history of disappearing and always made sure to call his mother and tell her where he was going if he left, Martinez said.

The boy’s home in rural Menifee is on about an acre. Law enforcement officers are using all-terrain vehicles and horses to search the nearby wilderness.

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“He’s autistic and does take medication and this is his third day without it,” Martinez said. “We’re concerned because of that. But the advantage we have here is that we’re in an area that has homes. He could literally go up to a house and drink water out of a hose or faucet. It’s not like he’s in the desert where no one is around. He has access to a water source and even shade.”

Anyone who may have information regarding Terry’s whereabouts is asked to call the Menifee Investigations Unit at (951) 210-1000 or the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department (951) 776-1099.

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joseph.serna@latimes.com

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