Petition calls for new Ontario Amber Alerts after missing autistic boy dies in Lindsay

The body of an 11-year-old autistic child has been found in the Scugog river after he suddenly went missing Sunday. Now parents and advocates are calling for a change to the Amber Alert system.

By Lucas Casaletto

The sudden disappearance and death of an 11-year-old autistic child has raised concerns from community members, with many calling on enforcement to implement an alert system for missing or vulnerable youths with disabilities.

On Monday, Sgt. Deb Hagarty with the Kawartha Lakes Police Service said members of the Ontario Provincial Police’s (OPP) underwater search and recovery team located the body of 11-year-old Draven Graham of Lindsay, Ont. in the Scugog River.

No foul play is suspected, but Hagarty says their investigation is ongoing.

Graham, who was reported missing by his father on Sunday, was an autistic person, and investigators say he had a sensory irritation to touch, which is common in autistic people.

Often, they can experience hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity to a wide range of stimuli.

Officers located some of Graham’s garments while searching for the missing boy. Investigators believe that Graham might have been bothered by the rain after some of his clothes got wet and he took them off.

One Hamilton woman behind a petition on Change.Org says more awareness is needed to help quickly track down “missing autistic and vulnerable children with special needs.” She referred to it as the “Draven Alert.”

The petition has garnered over 33,000 signatures as of Tuesday, with a new goal of 35,000.

“I have seen other petitions for the same subject popping up, and I encourage everyone to sign every single one of them that you come across,” Kat Reid wrote.

“The more awareness and attention we can bring to this while it’s still fresh in everyone’s minds, the better.”

You can view or sign Draven’s petition here.

Ontario woman says Graham’s death “could have been avoided”

Many people who have chosen to sign the petition in Graham’s honour say that his death could have been avoided, stressing that an Ontario-wide alert could have saved his life.

A mother from Bowmanville, Ont., Jennifer Maglietta, tells CityNews she was part of the search party that worked to find Graham after he went missing.

Maglietta says as a mother of an autistic child, she would have wanted an Ontario-wide alert had her kid been missing and in Graham’s situation.

“I believe that this could have been avoided,” Maglietta said. “If an alert was initiated right away. The amount of people that came out to search was very moving, but [an alert] could have been done immediately.”

Maglietta explained that due to an unintentional disregard for safety, her son likely would have done what Graham did and approached the river. She learned that similar to her son, Graham loved the water but couldn’t swim.

“It didn’t matter what time of night, day [or] distance. This was a child in desperate need of help,” the woman said. “Though my child can communicate, I know he would not approach someone for help. These children are vulnerable.”

A photo collage of Draven Graham, who was found dead in Lindsay, Ont. in the Scugog River. Photo: Change.Org.


In February, CityNews examined the criteria of provincial Amber Alerts — an emergency notification issued by the OPP if a child under 18 is believed to have been abducted.

Any of the police services in Ontario can submit a request to OPP for an alert so long as all specific guidelines are met. They include the following:

  • Officers believe the child has been abducted
  • Officers believe the child is in imminent danger (risk of bodily harm or death)
  • Officers believe broadcasting the alert will help find the child
  • One or more descriptions (of the child, the suspected abductor and/or the vehicle)

Reid says she doesn’t want Graham’s story to be forgotten. Instead, she’s hoping specific action is taken to address what she and others believe to be a systematic issue that will continue to leave autistic children at risk.

“Unfortunately, all of the hype dies down very quickly in these situations,” Reid says. “Nothing ends up changing, and then the list of tragic endings continues to grow.”

Maglietta, who has three other neurotypical and older kids, stressed that vulnerable autistic youth are at far more risk of danger and harm if they go missing.

“[My other children] knew their address, phone number, their full name by the time they were in kindergarten. They knew the safety and followed instructions,” Maglietta said.

“This is not the usual case for these children. This needs to change.”

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