Missing autistic boy found dead

The police found the body of 16-yearold T.Tsogt, who had autism, 18 days after he went missing on April 2.

Spokesperson for the General Police Department B.Baatarkhuu reported, “The body of the boy was found in Sergelen soum in Tuv Province. The preliminary forensic analysis predicts that the boy froze to death.”

T.Tsogt used to go out on his own frequently, according to his mother, T.Oyunchimeg.

T.Oyunchimeg told the press that the boy walked out of his mother’s car without a word when she parked outside their home at around 5:00 p.m. T.Oyunchimeg immediately ran after him and finally managed to catch up with him after running about the distance of one bus stop.

“I asked him to come back home with me but he protested saying ‘No, I’m going’. After struggling for a while, I brought him home with the help of a police officer. Later, my boy kept begging me to let him go outside for just an hour. I started locking the door and hiding the keys (when I get home) sometime before he went missing because he used to occasionally disappear. I tried to calm him down when he couldn’t stay still in the room but he told me that he would calm down only if he got out of the house. He said he’d return after a short walk outside. Since he was so angry, I decided to believe him and let him go outside,” she said.

Apparently, T.Tsogt promised his mother that he would return at 8:00 p.m. on April 2 before leaving the house at 7:18 p.m.

“I haven’t seen or heard from him since,” T.Oyunchimeg said.