Body Of Missing Autistic Boy, 9, Found Near Miami

MIAMI, FL — The body of a 9-year-old autistic boy was found Friday morning hours after his mother told police the child was taken by two men who demanded drugs from her near a Home Depot in southwest Miami-Dade, according to police.

"Sadly, the child was found deceased," the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said in canceling a statewide Amber Alert for Alejandro Ripley, who police said was nonverbal.

Miami-Dade police, who are investigating the case, did not immediately confirm they found Ripley's body but said they found a child's body about five minutes away by car from the area where Ripley's mother said the boy was taken. The body of the deceased child was found in the area of SW 62 Street and 138 Court along a Miccosukee Golf & Country Club waterway.

"Our homicide investigators are on the scene of a deceased child," Detective Argemis Colome told Patch. "Once they identify the body, and next of kin notification is made, only then will we know if it’s Alejandro Ripley."

The person who found the body said they were walking along an embankment when they spotted the child. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel pronounced the child dead on the scene.

Detective Angel Rodriguez of the Miami-Dade Police Department said earlier the child's mother, 47-year-old Patricia Ripley, told police the boy was abducted near the area of SW 158 Avenue and 88 Street shortly before 9 p.m. Thursday. She told Miami-Dade police the boy had been placed into a light blue four-door sedan.

"The victim was with her son as she was driving westbound on SW 88 Street from 157 Avenue, when she noticed she was being followed by an unknown vehicle," Rodriguez said earlier. "The driver of the unknown vehicle attempted to sideswipe her vehicle, forcing her to veer onto SW 158 Ave."

Rodriguez said the woman claimed to have been blocked in by the other car. "The vehicle then blocked her in while a male passenger ambushed her, demanding drugs," the detective said of the woman's account. "After stating she didn't have any drugs, he then stole her cellular phone and abducted her son, fleeing southbound in the unknown vehicle."

The child was remembered fondly by the My Kid Therapy Center, which posted a photo of him on social media.⁣

"Our most sincere and deepest condolences go to the Ripley family, we have you in our prayers and stand with you in this moment of grief," the center posted on the organization's Facebook page.

Rabbi Yossi Harlig, executive director of Friendship Circle Miami, which also works with special needs children in the area, called the child's death shocking.

“We are shocked and saddened by the loss of life of this precious young child whose body was found a few miles from our campus," Harlig said. "No child should ever be in this position, especially a child with special needs who cannot call out for help. We all grieve for Alejandro and his family.”

To report a tip, call the Miami-Dade Police Department at 305-476-5423 or dial 911. Alternatively, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS (8477) or 866-471-8477; visit www.crimestoppersmiami.com and select “Give a Tip”; or text "CSMD" followed by the tip information to 274637.