GASTONIA, NORTH CAROLINA — Investigators and community members are searching for a special needs boy with autism, who doesn’t speak.

Officials say six-year-old Maddox Rich was with his father and another adult at Rankin Lake Park in Gastonia, North Carolina when he ran ahead of them and didn’t return.

Rich has been missing since Saturday afternoon.

Officials say Rich disappearance is even more complex, because he has autism and he doesn’t speak.

The FBI and more than two dozen local, state and federal agencies have been searching for missing boy.

Officials say searchers have recorded messages from his parents to play on their cell phones while they look.

At this time, Police are considering all options, including foul play or abduction.

Source: WNDU