Missing 8-year-old found dead in Golden Gate body of water

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The search for a missing 8-year-old boy in Golden Gate has taken a tragic turn, said deputies from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies are now investigating the death of Samuel Millien whose body was found in a body of water near his home in Golden Gate, off 31st Avenue Southwest, at around 4 p.m., Monday.

“He is autistic and nonverbal,” said deputies in a Facebook post where they first announced the missing boy. The post has since been removed.

The boy was on foot, said deputies, when he was last seen around noon.

“We then expanded the search to include multiple units, multiple bureaus, including canine criminal investigations drone, our SVU unit came in,” said Andrea Jones with Collier County Sheriff’s Office, “one of our deputies did observe what appeared to be a submerged body in a body of water close to the residence.”

Children on the autism spectrum are 5—14 times more likely to drown than a child without autism. About 91% of autistic children’s deaths are due to drowning.

Multiple local county sheriff offices offer a missing person form specifically for families of disabled children:

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