Missing Student Located Following Day-Long Search

This story was updated at 5:46 p.m. to include information on the child's condition.

A student of a Westfield school who jumped off a school bus and fled early Tuesday morning has been located, according to Westfield police.

The boy, 17 years old from North Haledon, was the subject of a day-long search by the Westfield Police Department as well as many neighboring municipalities. New Jersey National Guard helicopters searched overhead in the area of Lamberts Mill Road and Rahway Avenue during the afternoon and marine units responded to search the Clark Reservoir off Raritan Road.

Union County Police Chief Dan Vaniska said the missing juvenile was located, cold and wet, by a Union County Police Department patrol unit near Featherbed Lane in Clark.

Westfield Police Chief David Wayman said the youth, found on Victoria Drive in Clark, was "treated on scene by medical personnel for his own well being and transported to the hospital."

While police would not say which school the student attends, a spokesperson for the Westfield public school district confirmed that student does not attend a Westfield public school.

Police units were located in front of Lamberts Mill Academy, which according to its website "is an education program designed for students who require a comprehensive psycho-therapeutic approach in an education setting." When Patch called to confirm that the missing child is a student, the principal said all calls are being referred to a behaviorist at Trinitas Regional Medical Center. 

Vaniska said the search was "well done by all involved agencies."

Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.