The mother of a Saugus boy who went missing for about seven hours Tuesday morning breathed a sigh of relief as her son hopped out of a sheriff’s SUV and into her arms.
“We’re never going to let him out of our sight again,” said Cassondra Jackson, the missing boy’s mother.
Home surveillance video showed 11-year-old Nicholas Estrada leaving left his home near Seco Canyon Road and Decoro Drive at 6:02 a.m.
Family members attempted to wake the boy at 7 a.m. and discovered he was missing, according to Jackson.
“He leaves to go to school right across the street at 7:30,” Jackson said.
The family called the boy’s school and then alerted authorities to the situation.
A bulletin was posted to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station’s social media accounts and a Nixle alert was issued to the public shortly after 10:30 a.m.
The statement released to the media described the missing child as a male hispanic with brown curly hair and brown eyes.
At the time, authorities said Estrada was seen wearing an orange shirt and jean shorts and was carrying a gray backpack.
The information was shared multiple times to local Facebook groups SCV Emergency Now, Santa Clarita Community and SCV Helicopters, Lights and Sirens.
The sheriff’s station received reports of possible sightings near Decoro Drive and McBean Parkway shortly after his photo and description were distributed.
At about 12:30 p.m., a report of another sighting near Avenue Scott and Rye Canyon Road was received.
“We got a phone call from a citizen that had the seen the post on social media,” said Detective Michael Deegan.
“They saw him on the street and called us in.”
Within minutes, sheriff’s deputies stationed at the Estrada home began to enter their patrol vehicles.
“They said they found him and we all rushed to the cop car and said he was on the way,” the boy’s mother said.
The family waited about 15 minutes until another black and white SUV arrived.
Two deputies approached the right side of the vehicle and opened the door.
The boy dressed in an orange shirt and jean shorts exited and ran into his mother’s arms.
Jackson asked her son if he was okay and questioned him as to his whereabouts.
“He said he didn’t know what was going through his mind to want to leave,” she said.
It remains unclear as to why the boy ventured out more than three miles from his home.
Signal Staff Writers Austin Dave, Christina Cox and Jim Holt contributed to this story.
