Bedford teen with autism found

UPDATE 8:45 a.m: The Bedford teen with autism was found alive at 8:30 a.m. and was transported to Bedford Memorial Hospital to be checked.

Billy Chrimes, with Virginia Department of Emergency Management, said he is in stable condition and walking.

"He was found by a citizen who noticed dogs barking." said Chrimes, "He was found sleeping beside some dog crates."

The area was checked Tuesday night, confirming that Timothy was moving around over the course of the past three days.

He was found a half-mile north of his home off of Big Island Highway.


BEDFORD COUNTY (WSLS 10) - It's been three days of relentless searching for missing 18-year-old Timothy Kilpatrick, who has autism.

The sheriff's office says he was last seen leaving his home at about 2 p.m. on Sunday. This is the same person who's family sued the Bedford County School System in 2011, according to the Bedford County Sheriff's Office. The lawsuit claims a bus drive hit Timothy multiple times and the incident was caught on camera.

The sheriff's office is now spearheading the search for Timothy.

Multiple law enforcement agencies have been called in and up to 80 people are searching for him within a two and a half mile radius from his home on Jopling Road.

Working alongside officers searching wooded areas are several K-9 officers.

Roxy and her handler, Black Booth, with the Greater Atlantic Rescue Dogs K-9 Search & Rescue, drove from the Virginia Beach area Tuesday morning to join the search.

Roxy's keen senses help crews cover more ground.

"Any dog's important in being able to clear large sections of land that might take 50 ground searchers to cover," explained Booth.

He said Roxy is trained to track different scents and to deal with people with different needs that could hopefully help find Timothy.

"Typically we'll devote a good part of training to unusual subjects, anything from a level of a person wearing a floppy hat and sunglasses, to we'll have a person replicate perhaps an Alzheimer's patient, or maybe a child that's flailing," continued Booth.

While Roxy and her handler are searching the woods, others are looking along popular roadways near his home.

"We have a huge amount of area to search and he's capable of traveling a long distance," said Billy Chrimes, the deputy search and rescue coordinator for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

Law enforcement officers will continue their search into the evening and Wednesday if Timothy is not found.