Houston family heads to Utah to find missing autistic son

Thursday, June 5, 2014
Houston family heads to Utah to search for son
Taylor Daniels is autistic. He attends an academy in Ogden, Utah.

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A Houston family is headed to Utah to find their missing son. He vanished from the special school he attends outside of Salt Lake City.



The Daniels family boarded a plane this morning heading for Utah to look for the 17-year-old. Taylor Daniels is autistic and attends an academy in Ogden, which is just about 45 minutes north of Salt Lake City.



His parents say they sent him there because it has a great reputation of helping older autistic kids transition to the real world. He has free will to come and go from there and there is independence, but he has been gone six days now and they are very worried.



They are working with local police and a private investigator. The school is at the foot of the mountains in a wooded area.



While he very functional in some areas, they say he doesn't always process information quickly and is not necessarily street smart. They also believe he is vulnerable.



"He's been out six days. That's very unusual," said Taylor's father, Steve Daniels. "We've had a lot of people looking for him in Ogden, including people form the academy he is attending there."



"I just talked to him Friday morning and there was no indication of trouble, so I think he is in trouble," his mother, Amy Daniels, added. "Either he can't get out or doesn't know, but we are coming for you."



The family plans on going door to door in the Ogden area with the hopes of finding someone who has seen him.


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