New Castle boy, 15, found after extensive search
NEW CASTLE – A 15-year-old boy who had gone missing Monday morning, prompting a search by numerous police and fire departments covering about 20 square miles, was found safe in the early evening.
Gregory McCarthy, a special-needs student in the Ossining school district, went missing from his Carriage Hill Road home about 7 a.m. He was found by Westchester County police about 5:45 p.m. near Inningwood and Pinesbridge roads.
Fire officials said he was dehydrated and suffered from cuts, scratches and bug bites, but was otherwise unharmed. He was taken by members of the Pleasantville Volunteer Ambulance Corps to Westchester Medical Center.
Two of McCarthy's brothers and his father, Jay McCarthy, are members of the Millwood Fire Department, Fire Chief Greg Santone said.
Santone said the search, which began as a friends and family effort, included county and New Castle police. By 2 p.m., Millwood firefighters had joined the search. They were soon aided by the Ossining, Chappaqua, Croton-on-Hudson, Yorktown and Briarcliff Manor fire departments.
"We were trying to beat the clock," Santone said. "We didn't want (the search) to go into nighttime hours. We really were trying to get him in the daylight."
New Castle police Sgt. Heather Rudisill said county police provided aviation and K-9 units.
In an email message to parents, Ossining schools Superintendent Raymond Sanchez asked anyone with information to contact police.
Jay McCarthy said his son, who functions at the level of a 6-year-old, was able to leave the house unsupervised Monday morning, which he normally is not allowed to do. The 35-year veteran Millwood firefighter said he had taken part in similar operations during his career, but searching for his son was different.
"I'm used to having my feet on the ground, but today I had to sit back and trust people," he said. "It's fair to say I would trust them again."
The father praised the search effort, calling it "a model response" by community volunteers and fire and police officials.
"We're OK. We're just so grateful," he said. "(Gregory) is going to stay overnight in the hospital and will probably be discharged in the morning."
McCarthy is the latest missing teen to be safely found in recent days.
A Mount Vernon boy — about 16 or 17 years old — was found Sunday near the ShopRite grocery store on Joyce Road in New Rochelle after he was reported missing.
On Thursday, Jorge Hernandez-Rodriguez, 19, of New City was found after a search near the border of New City and Haverstraw. The teen first went missing late that morning. Hours later, after searchers from five police departments scoured the area, he was found near Central Highway and South Mountain Road.
While recent local searches have helped safely recover missing teenagers, the mother of a 14-year-old boy with autism is suing New York City after her son was found dead.
Avonte Oquendo left his Queens school on Oct. 4, prompting a months-long search that included regular announcements over the public-address system at subway stations. His remains were discovered along the East River in January, several miles from where he vanished.
A report by the special commissioner of investigation for city schools eventually found a school safety agent being distracted by a hug and a principal refusing to order a lockdown contributed to Oquendo's disappearance and death.
Staff writer Gregory Shillinglaw contributed to this report.