Westford is heartbroken over the death of a 6-year-old autistic boy

Twelve hours after the tragic death of Zayan Mayanja, Heidi Sullivan arrived at the Westford police station with her seven-year-old son Patrick.

Like Zayan, Patrick is autistic, his mother said. But unlike Zayan, Patrick can speak. Still, Sullivan didn’t want to take any chances.

“I just came to the police station today to give updated pictures and put Patrick in the cognitive alert system they have here,” she said. “This has really hit the community hard. And we are a very close community. As a mother, this is really devastating.”

The Cognitive Alert System covers children with autism – but also adults with dementia. The information provided by family members – such as photos and full descriptions – can help police get an early start on the search for a missing person.

And as Zayan’s case shows, time is a precious commodity when a person with autism goes missing.

Zayan left his house around 9 p.m. Sunday night by climbing out a window. Police and other law enforcement agencies launched a large-scale search operation in the Nabnasset Lake area.

“There was a heavy police presence, helicopters were deployed, drones were flying around,” said Amy Tartaka, who lives nearby.

The lake was a central point of the search. According to AutismSpeaks, drowning is the leading cause of death among autistic people who are wandering.

Three hours after the search began, it ended. Zayan was found in the lake by a dog team. He was about a quarter mile from his home.

“Immediate life-saving measures were administered, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation,” said Captain Michael Breault, Westford Police spokesman. The boy was taken to Lowell General Hospital but did not survive.

Breault hoped that this tragedy will inspire others, like Heidi Sullivan, to support family members with autism or dementia in Register cognitive alerts.

“We want you to contact us,” he said.

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