Without a cell phone or credit card to track, Suzie Penn was left with only a MasterCard gift card receipt to find her missing 24-year-old son with Asperger's syndrome.

John Heath Noss left a vague note when he wandered away from his Maitland home Jan. 16 with a little bit of cash in his pockets and a few gift cards.

After 47 days sleeping in shelters and working odd jobs in Osceola County, Noss was found in Kissimmee on March 3, thanks to his mom tracking one of his gift card transactions to a Burger King on Vine Street.

Penn said not giving up was the key that ultimately led her back to her son.

“Sometimes you just have to believe in yourself. You know what it was? Mom power,” she said with a laugh. “It just takes you over. It's like momma bear syndrome ... you just do whatever it takes.”

Early on in the search, on Jan. 25, Maitland police told Penn the gift cards were a dead end, she said.

An investigator wrote in a report, “Upon making contact with MasterCard in reference to the two $25 gift cards, I was informed that MasterCard would not be able to provide any information for either card due to not having the card numbers.”

Penn then took it upon herself to contact Home Depot headquarters, where the gift cards were purchased, to track down the card number and access the transactions.

“I was like, ‘I'm not taking no for an answer,'?” Penn said.

After successfully obtaining the gift card transactions March 2, she discovered that Noss went to a Kissimmee Burger King at 7 a.m. for 10 consecutive days in early February.

Deputy Chief Bill McEachnie said he did not know why Maitland police officers investigating the case were not able to access the gift card transactions themselves.

“We did on our part way beyond what most departments would do in a missing person case,” he said. “Every time we had any kind of leads on this case, we followed up on it.”

After Penn handed over the transaction information to the police March 2, they were able to obtain surveillance video from the Burger King that showed Noss at the fast food restaurant.

Penn and her husband, Terry Penn, left their Tuscarora Trail home at about 5:30 a.m. March 3, expecting to get to the Burger King, nearly 40 miles away, about the same time as their son had been arriving there. Penn said her son has the mental development of a teenager and that routine is important to people with Asperger's syndrome.

After talking to a Burger King employee who recognized Noss' photo, Penn found out he was staying at a local church called Life in the Son, about a mile away from the Burger King. She went to the church immediately and found him.

Penn was able to hug her son for the first time in more than a month.

“He said ‘oh my gosh' and we said, ‘John, it's time to come home now'... and he said, ‘OK ... OK.'?” Penn said.

Penn said police searched for Noss in Kissimmee shortly after he went missing but could not find him. McEachnie said officers were following a tip because someone thought they saw Noss there. He did not know if it was the same area where Noss was found.

When he was found, Maitland police asked the family to bring him to the police department so they could verify his identity and take him off the missing persons list.

Noss told police he left home to seek more independence, reports show. But while he was away from home he managed to buy his own clothes, work occasionally, feed himself and shower, reports say.

“John's home!” has become a common cheer among neighbors, Penn said. Everyone is thankful he returned home safe, but Asperger's syndrome is still widely misunderstood, she said.

“He just left thinking he could maybe grow up ... thinking that maybe he could get a job and live on his own,” Penn said. “It's difficult with Asperger's and autism, you know. They're confused by choices and decisions, and he just didn't make the right choice. You know how lucky we are? It just doesn't turn out that way.”

Penn said Noss does not remember much about Kissimmee, but he's returned to his normal life and is back to volunteering at Stepping Stones Preschool in Winter Park.

“It's almost like he doesn't remember running away, but we sure do,” Penn said.

kpoggio@orlando