At 2:30AM a Suffolk Police helicopter hovering over Brookwood Hall Park just north of Main St. in Islip got a heat signature using Forward Looking Infrared technology. They were called back to the area after getting a call that a missing autistic teen was spotted near Cranberry Drive.
Police, fire departments, public safety officers and civilians had been scouring the area since the teen, Matteo Mosquera, had disappeared at around 1pm. Police called in multiple police helicopters throughout the night as firefighters searched through the neighborhoods on foot. By midnight temps had dipped into the low 20s and Matteo was reported to be without a jacket. Most of the search party had dwindled by the time the call came in around 2AM.
The police helicopter guided police and public safety officers to the heat source and at around 2:30PM the boy was found and brought back to his family at the entrance to the park. He was taken to Southside Hospital for evaluation but appeared to be unharmed.
