(WWJ) He found a warm and safe place to play, but made quite the mess.
The house where a missing 6-year-old Madison Heights boy was found a week ago is undergoing some unexpected renovations, due to flooding.
According to a Gofundme for the Brinkley family, they are dealing with damage to their home, after the child wandered in through an unlocked door and decided their bathtub would be a fun place to play.
Amid a massive search effort — involving local, state and federal authorities — the family arrived home to find the boy unharmed. But they also discovered he'd left their water running for hours while he played.
The message on the fundraising page reads:
"On Sunday, our community held its breath for 8 hours while dozens and dozens of neighbors, friends, strangers, and local police searched in the freezing cold for a missing 6 year old autistic boy. Close to midnight it was announced that he was found safe! By the grace of God he wandered into a neighbor’s house who was out for the day. There he found shelter…and WATER!!! This precious little boy played and played and played…and played in the bathtub of the neighbors (the Brinkley family)‘s home. Just wanting to play, the sweet boy didn’t realize how much damage he was causing.
"But now the Brinkley’s face a serious water damage situation. Insurance is a blessing, but there are lots of unforeseen costs to come — replacing ruined items, an astronomical water bill, the cost of staying elsewhere during renovations, the list goes on. Let’s help them out however we can! As we’ve already seen from this story, a little neighborly love can go a long way- let’s keep the love going and support the Brinkley’s while their water damage is rectified."
The goal for the fundraiser is $5,000, with donations accepted at this link.
Details about what led up to the boy's disappearance are still not publicly known.
In its latest update, the Madison Heights Police Department said it was continuing to investigate the circumstances of this case.