Ishmael "Trey" Porrata, 13, is functionally autistic. He and his seven-year-old brother, Zachary Porrata, were last seen around 1pm Saturday in their neighborhood near Timbercrest Village Dr. and Kuykendahl Rd. in the Spring area.
According to officials, they were finally found Sunday evening near Treewood Village Apartments off Woodlands Parkway in Montgomery County.
HCSO investigators tracked down a neighbor who had been noticably absent since the boys went missing. That man told officials the boys approached him Saturday. He said the children were mad because they had been disciplined and they wanted to run away from home, officials said.
Sgt. Ben Beall with HCSO Homicide said the man decided to assist the boys and "show them how it is to live like a hobo."
The neighbor drove the children seven miles away to the apartment complex in Montgomery County. That's where deputies found them, hiding in the woods behind a dumpster.
Beall told us the brothers were taken back home to their mother and step-father. They appeared to be in good health with no injuries.
Their family had been upset and searching the area near their home for hours before bring in help from authorities late Saturday.
Officers knocked on doors Sunday in the neighborhood and and volunteers with Texas EquuSearch combed the surrounding wooded area on foot, horseback and with all-terrain vehicles. The Texas Department of Public Safety also sent a helicopter to search from the air.
About 80 people in all were working to find the boys.
Although extensive resources were used in the search effort, Beall said everyone is "ecstatic" the boys were found alive and well.
According to investigators, there does not appear to be any signs of abuse at the boys' home.
This case remains under investigation. The neighbor who drove the boys to Montgomery County could face charges.
