Family of Scott Meyer Thanks the Public and His 'Angel'

Eighty deer tick bumps and hundreds of mosquito bites are the only physical evidence of what 5-year-old Scotty Meyer went through alone in the woods on the night of July 3.

During a news conference Sunday, Barb Meyer, Scotty's mom, says she never thought the worst.

The little boy, who has autism, disappeared from his family's home in Oak Grove, Wis., not far from Prescott on Tuesday morning. His mom believes he and one of his brothers, who also has autism, slipped out while an air conditioning repairman was coming and going from the house. The other child was found in the yard, but Scotty was nowhere to be found.

A thousand volunteers, along with law enforcement, searched through the heat and rough terrain for him. He was found just after 8 a.m. on July 4 in a wooded area about a half mile from his home. He was dehydrated and covered in bug bites, but otherwise okay. He was treated at Children's Hospital before being released to his family.

Barb Meyer says she has noticed a new sense of fear in her son ever since he was found.

"Last night he was curled up in a blanket outside our bedroom doors; he doesn't want to fall asleep at night too far away from us," says Meyer.

The thought of what he must have gone through during those 21 hours alone is too much for his mom.

"I just refuse to allow myself to think what he went though. The only thing I believe with all my heart is that when he was out there he was surrounded by angels, and every time a mosquito bit him, an angel kissed it"

She calls Jason Moser Scotty's angel.

"I've never had someone that I've just met that I love so deeply," said Meyer in a press conference. "Our lives are forever linked.  We so very much look forward to getting to know you and including you in our family."

Moser and his golden retriever, Autumn found Scotty early Wednesday morning. It was Jason's son, Liam, that compelled him to search for Scotty.

"I can picture Liam being out there the same way Scotty was, and there's no way that I could give up a minute not to be out there," said Moser.

Meyer says she has tried using wristbands through Project Lifesaver on all three of her sons, but because of their sensitivity issues, she says they would rub their wrists raw.

The bracelets have a tracker that allows officials to find people when they wander off.

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