Man recounts finding missing 6-year-old in his Madison Heights home

A Michigan man recounts the moment he found a 6-year-old boy who disappeared in Madison Heights over the weekend.

Johnathan Skattebo, who is autistic and non-verbal, is OK and is home with his family after authorities said he was able to get out of his home and wandered off Sunday afternoon. He was missing for eight hours before he was found.

"I really hoped they would find him, but I never would have guessed I would be that guy," said La'Bron Brinkley.

Brinkley spent most of Sunday away from his house. He sings at Kensington Church in Troy and his father's church in Eastpointe. It wasn't until Brinkley got closer to home around 11 pm when he started receiving Amber Alerts.

"Naturally, whenever we see things like that, we say a quick prayer like, 'Lord, please allow this child to be found,'" said Brinkley.

And his prayer was answered in a way he didn't imagine.

"When I walked in, I noticed my curtain was pulled back, and that's not normal, and I was just like maybe we were just rushing," said Brinkley.

Brinkley says there were toys and items out of place.

"I could tell he had been in here for a while. Every room, there was something. Toys in the toilet, you name it, it happened," he said.

Brinkley found Johnathan in the bathtub, playing with toys, unbothered, but most importantly, safe. While Brinkley was the person to alert police, he says it was comforting knowing his whole community came together to find the boy, too.

"It was a hopeful feeling just to see so many cars in the community together, emergency lights everywhere, it was just really nice to see," said Brinkley.

The Madison Heights Police Department says Child Protective Services is investigating.