London: A 10-year-old Indian-origin boy suffering from a rare genetic illness, who ran away from his home in the wee hours today, was found by an off-duty Scotland officer soon after the force launched a search to trace him.
A police spokesperson said: "Malakhi Chijiutomi-Ghosh has been found this afternoon by an off duty police officer in Hertfordshire. He has been taken to hospital as a precautionary measure." Malakhi Chijiuomi-Ghosh, who suffers from a lie-threatening condition known as adrenal hyperplasia, had earlier triggered a major search operation after he ran away from his London home in the early hours today.
The boy, believed to be of Nigerian and Indian descent, has been described as a light-skinned black boy and police were worried that unless he received his medication he could die.
Metropolitan Police chief superintendent Andy Tarrant had earlier issued an appeal for anybody who may have seen him to come forward.
He said: "He is going to be more difficult to trace if he slips into a coma, as well as the weather conditions, and everything else it is really urgent we do trace him and find him.
"It is totally out of character for him to do this. Our priority is to find him and check on his welfare and safety, he is very vulnerable. His family are desperate, it is totally out of character they are really worried about him," he added.
Police said the boy, 4 feet 7 inches tall, was seen waiting at a bus stop in south London. Congential hyperplasia occurs when the adrenal gland is larger than usual. It means the body is missing a chemical substance which stimulates the adrenal glands to release the cortisol hormone. Symptoms include heart rhythm abnormalities, dehydration and vomiting.