A TEAM effort between police, SES crews and the community helped to locate a 14-year-old Strathfieldsaye boy who went missing for almost 13 hours yesterday.
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Brandan Norton, who has autism, was reported missing from his Sullivans Road home at 11.30pm on Tuesday.
Police found the teenager in the yard of a nearby property at 12.15pm on Wednesday.
Channel Nine News reported a neighbour found Brandan kicking a ball on the wall of a tennis court about 11am.
Bendigo Police Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Morris said the boy was found safe and uninjured.
"He was found safe and well," he said.
"His family were relieved he was found safe."
Detective Senior Sergeant Morris said the teenager had decided to go for a walk on Tuesday and was last seen travelling along Sullivans Road.
He said Brandan had been known to wander from his home and had done so in the past.
"He has been known to do this in the past and known to walk quite some distance," he said.
"In the past he has made his way all the way into Bendigo - that’s quite a walk."
Detective Senior Sergeant Morris said 15 police officers, 12 SES crews, a helicopter and DEPI staff had helped search for the teenager.
He said the dog squad had looked for Brandan during a preliminary search on Tuesday night.
"It was quite large," he said.
"It was a very good effort.
"It was very much a combined effort."
Police said they wanted to thank the community for their help during the search.
SES regional duties officer Peter Patterson said crews from Bendigo, Dunolly and Castlemaine were deployed for the search.
"We are proud of the efforts of our volunteers in helping to locate the missing boy," he said.
"They were very relieved to hear he had been found."
