Runaway found safe after search

Missing Pond Road Middle School student was found hiding at his grandmother’s Hamilton home after an extensive 13-hour search.

By: Lauren Burgoon
   WASHINGTON — An extensive 13-hour search for a missing 12-year-old boy ended happily in the early hours of Thanksgiving Day when the child was found hiding at his grandmother’s Hamilton home.
   Kenneth Lesczynski, who was found unharmed, turned out to be a runaway.
   The disappearance of the Pond Road Middle School student prompted a massive search effort of over 100 people from more than 20 agencies. The size of the search was in part because of several unusual circumstance in this case, Washington police Detective Vince Estelle said.
   "We don’t get many kids who are missing for that long. Normally they are found right away," Detective Estelle said. "Certain circumstances like that his bike was found and he didn’t attend school that day led the search to be stepped up… We didn’t know if we were dealing with an abduction."
   Police determined that Kenneth left his father’s Windmere Path home at 1:05 a.m. Nov. 24. His father, Larry, first discovered the boy missing that afternoon after learning that Kenneth had not attended school that day, Washington police said. Mr. Lesczynski searched for his son himself for a while before notifying police. The 1:30 p.m. call from Mr. Lesczynski initiated the search.
   Police have determined that Kenneth rode his bike to the bridge on Pond Road, where he then dropped his bike, book bag and hat. Those items were found later. Kenneth also broke open a bottle containing money he had saved and walked to Mercer County Park, where he stayed in a restroom until 4 a.m.
   Kenneth first went to his grandmother’s home on Hughes Drive in early morning on Nov. 24, where he hid in a shed. He later left and went back to the park until dark. The boy returned to his grandmother’s shed until 8 or 9 p.m. before entering her home through an unlocked basement window. Kenneth went upstairs undetected and fell asleep under a bed on the second floor, police said.
   Geraldine Lesczynski found her grandson under the bed on Thanksgiving Day.
   The search for Kenneth went on for nearly 13 hours before officers stopped for the night. Authorities used search dogs, thermal imaging, night vision equipment and divers in the search, which was concentrated in a five-mile radius around Kenneth’s home.
   The search began on Wednesday afternoon when the boy was first confirmed missing and lasted until 2 a.m. Thursday. Officials were scheduled to resume the search that morning, but were notified at 7:40 a.m. by Kenneth’s father that his son was found safe.
   Kenneth’s return was announced at a press conference on Nov. 25.
   The FBI joined the Washington police and fire departments, 12 other law enforcement agencies, including police from Maryland, eight canine officer units and four fire departments in the search for Kenneth. The New Jersey National Guard was on standby for the incident.
   Police interviewed Kenneth and have said that there was no wrongdoing that led to him run away. However, citing the privacy of the family, officers are not releasing details of the discussion.