A 5-year-old boy with autism who went missing during recess at a Sto-Rox school was found safe after crews searched for seven hours on Tuesday. 

"We walked the perimeter of the school, like down by the woods," Kim Turner with Jamie's Dream Team said.

Drones scanned from above and teams scoured from the ground below look for Jedadiah Jackson. After the hours-long search, the boy was spotted by a drone operator. He was surrounded by trees, alone and vulnerable.

"It was very far away, so it was just a dot. I saw this dot moving, so I knew that there was something there," a drone operator who helped out with the search said.

What began as a routine recess at Sto-Rox Primary Center in McKees Rocks on Tuesday turned into every parent's worst fear after the kindergartener walked away from the playground just before noon.

"From my understanding, when they found him, he was just sitting on a hillside curled up in a ball, scared," said Turner.

"When they finally found him did you see mom after, or no?" KDKA's Mamie Bah asked. 

"She collapsed on the ground, just very emotional. There were people crying, there were others clapping. She collapsed on the ground and just started praising God," Turner said.

Now, attention is shifting toward the district, and many are wondering how this happened. On Wednesday, KDKA reached out to the district's superintendent, requesting comment and answers to questions about student-to-staff ratios at recess, paraprofessional aides and more.

When KDKA did not hear back, a crew went to the main office at Sto-Rox Junior-Senior High School and was told the superintendent was not there.

"You want to feel safe when your child is dropped off at school," Turner said. "You want to not have worries that something like this could happen. But in all reality, it could."