The Ian Alert, developed from a tragedy, was activated in Kentucky Wednesday and played a crucial role in locating Jahmari Carter, a missing teen with autism.Amie Hughes, Jahmari’s mother, described the moment she realized her son was missing.”My heart dropped, my soul left my body. I felt like the wind got knocked out of me,” Hughes said. She went into full panic mode, overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty. Jahmari, despite being 17, was in critical danger alone outside because of issues related to autism. State police issued an Ian Alert, named for Ian Sousis, and for the first time, the alert led to the child’s safe recovery. Hughes expressed gratitude for the alert’s role in saving her son. “It saved my child. It helped me save my child,” she said.Rhonda O’Brien, Ian Sousis’s grandmother, shared her emotional response to the alert’s success. “It was overwhelmingly emotional and I don’t even know if that’s a word,” O’Brien said. She was thrilled to see the alert fulfilling its purpose. “I was just super emotional and happy to see that the alert is doing what it’s supposed to do,” she said.Ian Sousis, who also had autism, ran from a children’s home and tragically died in the Ohio River near Ludlow. “I’m sorry that it took a tragedy,” she said, adding, “but it’s really my super hero.”O’Brien reflected on Ian’s aspirations. “He’d be ecstatic to be that superhero he always wanted to be,” she said.Jahmari wandered off and was spotted by an alert security guard at a nearby campus. The guard, who had received the Ian Alert on his phone, recognized Jahmari as the person they were searching for after he had fallen down.The Ian Alert was activated one other time since it’s been in operation. That was in July. The 5-year-old did not survive in that case.
The Ian Alert, developed from a tragedy, was activated in Kentucky Wednesday and played a crucial role in locating Jahmari Carter, a missing teen with autism.
Amie Hughes, Jahmari’s mother, described the moment she realized her son was missing.
“My heart dropped, my soul left my body. I felt like the wind got knocked out of me,” Hughes said. She went into full panic mode, overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty.
Jahmari, despite being 17, was in critical danger alone outside because of issues related to autism. State police issued an Ian Alert, named for Ian Sousis, and for the first time, the alert led to the child’s safe recovery.
Hughes expressed gratitude for the alert’s role in saving her son. “It saved my child. It helped me save my child,” she said.
Rhonda O’Brien, Ian Sousis’s grandmother, shared her emotional response to the alert’s success.
“It was overwhelmingly emotional and I don’t even know if that’s a word,” O’Brien said.
She was thrilled to see the alert fulfilling its purpose. “I was just super emotional and happy to see that the alert is doing what it’s supposed to do,” she said.
Ian Sousis, who also had autism, ran from a children’s home and tragically died in the Ohio River near Ludlow.
“I’m sorry that it took a tragedy,” she said, adding, “but it’s really my super hero.”
O’Brien reflected on Ian’s aspirations.
“He’d be ecstatic to be that superhero he always wanted to be,” she said.
Jahmari wandered off and was spotted by an alert security guard at a nearby campus. The guard, who had received the Ian Alert on his phone, recognized Jahmari as the person they were searching for after he had fallen down.
The Ian Alert was activated one other time since it’s been in operation. That was in July. The 5-year-old did not survive in that case.
