She may be a police department newbie, but New Baltimore Cadet Krysta LeBeau acted like a seasoned pro when handling a missing child situation.

LeBeau, 24 of Sterling Heights, found a 7-year-old boy who wandered away from his mother for about 20 minutes Sunday in Burke Park. The child, who has autism, was about three blocks away at the St. Mary Queen of Creation parking lot, LeBeau said Thursday.

"I stopped the car and I said 'Nathan' in a really nice voice," she said. "I told him that his mom was looking for him."

She gave the boy a ride in the police car, where he happily munched on coffee cake and then was reunited with his relieved mother.

The joyous ending followed a series of events and quick-thinking that began when the distraught mother approached LeBeau and her partner around 4 p.m. at the park. The woman frantically told them her son was missing and gave them a brief description, she said.

LeBeau radioed in the incident, circled the park to look for the child, then got a better description from the mother and was able to calm her down. Fearing the boy was in the water, she asked the lifeguards to order everyone out of the lake. When it was clear he wasn't on the beach, she got in the car and found him in the church parking lot, she said.

New Baltimore Police Chief Tim Wiley said Thursday, "I'm just impressed that she was able to think so well on her feet. She was able to prioritize the order of events that needed to take place."

While LeBeau admits the incident "is probably up there on the list" of exciting things to happen since starting the cadet job in May, she's modest about how she handled it.

"Anybody else would have done the same thing if they were in my position," she said.

But, Wiley said she will receive departmental recognition for her outstanding job.

"I really give her a lot of credit--more than she gives herself," he said.