WTOL.com, Toledo's News Leader, News 11 | Amber Alert update: Boy was sleeping under his bed

Amber Alert update: Boy was sleeping under his bed

SOUTH TOLEDO (WTOL) - A seven-year-old boy is safe after his mom and police thought he had been abducted.

It started Tuesday night, June 16 at the family's house in the 3100 block of Mercer in South Toledo.

Tears of relief flowed down Samara Smith's face. It's the first time she's seen her son Matthew in about 12 hours. "Baby, you scared me half to death," she tells him.

She told police the seven-year-old took out the trash while she took a bath and never came back. Nearly three hours later, Smith reported her son missing.

It had nearby parents worried. "It's a scary thought that they can't go in their own yard and play or walk to the neighbors house without somebody coming by and taking them," said neighbor Daniel McGovern.

When detectives came back to the boy's house, they searched it again. That's when police found the boy sleeping under a bed."

It seemed Matthew was still trying to wake up. When asked if he heard any of the commotion, he shook his head 'no'.

Toledo police say detectives searched the house at least four different times and never saw the boy. They're investigating whether someone overlooked him.

Like Matthew's family, they're just glad he's safe.

Matthew's Aunt, Sirena Campbell says she's "exhausted. Been up all night roaming streets everything. I'm so tired. I can rest now."