A Buffalo mother and son reported missing Wednesday evening were found safe Thursday morning in Niagara County.
Rose Mudd, age 38. and Thomas Mudd III, age 10, were reported missing by Buffalo Police Wednesday. Mrs. Mudd, according to police, had signed her son out of a field trip Wednesday afternoon at the Hard Rock Cafe in Niagara Falls.
Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo says more than 150,000 people shared the department's social media alerts. On Thursday morning, a citizen in Niagara County spotted the mother and son in the vehicle identified by police and reported them to authorities.
"One member of the public who had seen our post spotted her vehicle traveling on Niagara Falls Boulevard in the Town of Wheatfield," Rinaldo said. "They contacted 911, as we asked, Niagara County Sheriff's Deputies were quick to respond to the area and located her in the vicinity of the Niagara Falls airport. They were able to conduct a traffic stop and bring this to a successful conclusion."
The mother and son were reported missing hours after Mrs. Mudd, according to investigators, signed her son out of a school field trip in Niagara Falls. The boy was scheduled to appear at a musical recital later in the day and, when neither he nor his mother appeared, police were notified.
"It appeared this woman and her child made a final communication with her husband, not of a threatening nature," he said. "They missed an appointment. In the half hour after the appointment time, she had contacted via text and said 'I'm not going to make it to the appointment,' and basically fell off the face of the earth."
The child is now in the care of his father. Buffalo Police say Mrs. Mudd was taken to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center for evaluation.
