Missing autistic teen located after search in Coral Springs

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – A tent was set up at Chabad of Coral Springs on Thursday and served as the command center as police and the community searched for a 14-year-old boy from Coral Springs who had been missing since Wednesday evening.

He was located Thursday afternoon after an exhaustive search.

Coral Springs Police said Yitzhak Azaldegui, who was mildly autistic, was last seen in the area of 8500 Sample Road dressed in a white shirt, black pants, and black sneakers, and wearing a yamulke.

Rabbi Abraham Friedman of Chabad of Coral Springs was concerned about the missing boy because of his limited social skills.

“He’s really a kind respectful child. He comes over and greets you and he is respectful and he is there to help. He is pure and he is a pure child, which makes him a little bit more vulnerable when he’s out there alone,” Friedman said.

MISSING: Yitzhak Azaldegui, 14, of Coral Springs. (WPLG)

Police received the call Wednesday night around 10 p.m. Azaldegui was classified as a runaway per information gathered that he had been arguing with his parents.

Coral Springs police deployed drones overhead and Broward Sheriff’s Office scoured the area from the air. K-9 units were also part of the search. Police also issued a Code Red, which went out via text to thousands of people in the area.

Volunteers gathered at Chabad to help with the search.

Where the boy was located was not disclosed. Friedman said he and the boy’s mother were on their way to retrieve the boy.


About the Authors:

In January 2017, Hatzel Vela became the first local television journalist in the country to move to Cuba and cover the island from the inside. During his time living and working in Cuba, he covered some of the most significant stories in a post-Fidel Castro Cuba.