The 11-year-old Cocoa Beach boy who was reported missing Thursday night was found in the bushes Friday afternoon near the area he was last seen.
An all-out search began early Friday morning after Cole Monda was reported missing around 9 p.m. Thursday — just three hours after he left his home in the area of 130 block of Oak Drive.
Police say Cole returned home late, and was afraid he'd be in trouble. He walked to an area nearby, sought shelter form the rain underneath a tarp and fell asleep.
"I grabbed my daughter, I just ran right up to him!" said Joy Jowers, who found Cole.
Jowers and her daughter Gracie hopped out of her truck on Cedar Avenue after two men working at a house nearby spotted someone in the bushes.
"'Is your name Cole?’ ‘No no, my name’s not Cole. I said is, ‘Is your name Cole?’ ‘Yes, it’s my name, Cole,’" Jowers said. "I said, ‘Your mommy’s looking for you right now. The whole town!' And I saw what he was wearing, it matched the description and everything."
Joy Jowers and her daughter, Gracie, located 11-year-old Cole Monda in the bushes near his Cocoa Beach home. (Amanda McKenzie, Staff)
The young boy was tired, and muddy, but otherwise ok as deputies put him in the front seat of an air-conditioned patrol car.
FDLE issued a missing child alert six hours after he was reported missing. It sparked a massive search and fliers were passed out all across Cocoa Beach.
More than 100 police officers and dozens of volunteers from all across Brevard County looked on streets, canals and from the air since the boy was reported missing.
"A big thank you for the whole community coming together showing their concern," said Cocoa Beach Police Chief Chief Bud Ayers.
"Just glad that he's home," Jowers said.