Missing Child in Simpson Park
April 3, 2026
Simpson Park, Hemet, CA
2026-013
Written By: Tobias Moyneur
On February 36th, RMRU responded to a report of a missing autistic child in the Simpson Park area. At the time of the callout, much of the team was participating in a training event in Joshua Tree and was redirected directly to the incident.
As I was not attending the training, I was among the earlier RMRU members deployed into the field after initial information was gathered by the team and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. Search assignments were quickly developed and teams were sent into various areas surrounding the child’s last known location.
I was paired with Chad B. and assigned to search an area approximately half a mile from base, just off a nearby trail. Riverside Sheriff’s bloodhounds had shown strong interest in this location, making it a priority search area. After Shani M. completed her assignment assisting the bloodhound team, she joined our search team as we continued operations in the area.
Despite conducting a thorough search, we found no signs of the child in the initial area. We then adjusted our strategy and began searching the nearby dirt trails for signs of travel. After obtaining information about the child’s shoe pattern and size, we located a positive footprint match heading down trail from our location. We began actively tracking the footprints for approximately 20 minutes before receiving an update that a mountain biker had located the child on an adjacent backcountry trail.
Our team responded quickly and rendezvoused with the mountain biker, the child, and two Riverside Sheriff’s deputies. Fortunately, the child was in good spirits. After being provided water and snacks, he was escorted out along the mountain bike trail to awaiting family members and medical personnel.
The child was ultimately located roughly half a mile, as the crow flies, from his last known location. Interestingly, there was no obvious direct route connecting his location to the trail where he was found, and the terrain between the two points was difficult to navigate. Team members remain curious about the exact route he may have taken.
Special thanks goes to the mountain biker who initially located the child. After hearing about the incident in the area, he voluntarily began checking nearby trails in hopes of assisting with the search. His initiative played a critical role in the successful outcome of the mission
RMRU Members Involved: (David Altenburg, Trygve Anderson, Caroline Baber, Chad Becker, David Bever, Jon Butler, Alex Cochran, Nathaniel Des, Eric, Andy Hayt, Dave Kosmal, Geoffrey Marshall, Shani McCullough, Tobias Moyneur, Vinay Rao, Stephanie Robertson, Solan Watts, Richard Yocum)
Other Agencies Involved: ((Riverside Sheriff Emergency Response Team (SERT) and Riverside County Search Dogs)