Crime & Safety

New Baltimore Police Cadet Finds Missing Child

Krysta LeBeau will be recognized for her hard work and quick thinking, according to New Baltimore Chief Tim Wiley.

She may be a 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 . The child, who has autism, was about three blocks away at the 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."

Find out what's happening in New Baltimore-Chesterfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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.

Find out what's happening in New Baltimore-Chesterfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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 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.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.