Missing NYC Boy Found Playing Hooky on Rooftop, Spotted By News Helicopter

Brooklyn Boy Found Playing Hooky on Rooftop, Spotted By News Helicopter

A mischievous Brooklyn boy, who was reported missing Thursday morning, was found playing hooky on the roof of his apartment building – by a news helicopter that was dispatched to cover the story.

The CBS 2 helicopter arrived at the Sheepshead Bay apartment complex shortly after police were notified about the missing child. The boy's parents had called 911 around 9:45 a.m. after realizing he hadn't reached school.

While filming the scene, the helicopter crew noticed a child matching the missing boy's description sitting on the rooftop, lounging in a chair. They immediately contacted the NYPD.

CBS News helicopter journalist Dan Rice said he saw the boy wearing an orange tie, as described by the police, and that he was playing on an iPad.

"We zoomed in with the camera... I looked down at my notes,” Rice recounted. “I see what the assignment desk had sent me, and I see what the child was wearing. I look back at the child, and that child was wearing everything that’s in the description. He looked to be about 9 years old.”

The NYPD officers arrived and the boy, after packing up his computer and book bag, went with them. The officers gave a thumbs-up to the helicopter crew before taking the boy down to his parents.

The boy was reunited with his mother. It is unclear where he is enrolled and if he was supposed to attend classes or a summer program.

A neighbor told CBS 2 that he saw the boy on the roof in the morning, but didn't report it because he didn't know there was an active search for him.

"I went up there with my wife to have a cup of coffee. It was about 8 o’clock. There’s a swinging bench up there, sort of. The kid was sitting on the bench playing on his iPad,” the neighbor said.

“I thought his parents gave him permission to go up there. I didn’t even think, ‘Why would the kid be up there?’ It’s a community place.”

Rice said this was the first time he'd had such an experience on the job.

“To be able to find that child for the parents down in that building, it was a really gratifying experience,” he said.