Autistic son’s death after leaving home drives mother’s awareness cause
Cybele Mayes-Osterman
USA TODAY
When 2-year-old Jermaine Jones slipped out of his home while his aunt was showering earlier this month, it was not the first time he had wandered away.
• A month earlier, the curious curly-haired toddler, who had autism and was nonverbal, disappeared from his family’s house in a rural area outside Lansing, Michigan, only to be found 300 yards away.
When Jermaine’s mom, Victoria Jones, learned her son had vanished again, she called police, setting off a furious twoday search that saw helicopters, police dogs, drones, a dive team, and more than 500 volunteers join the effort to bring the little boy home safe.