An 11-year-old Costa Mesa boy with autism was reported missing Monday and reunited with his family 10 hours later, according to police.

Costa Mesa police searched for the boy and asked the public’s help finding him early Monday morning. Costa Mesa police were contacted around 5:45 p.m. by Santa Ana police who found the boy in the area of Edinger Avenue and Fairview Street – some four miles from his home, said Costa Mesa police Sgt. Patrick Wessel. A passerby spotted the boy and contacted police.

The child’s parents said they noticed him missing from their apartment just before 7 a.m. Officers, an Orange County Sheriff’s Department helicopter and a bloodhound search crew began looking for him near the boy’s Adams Avenue home.

It’s unclear how the boy got to the location, although police said all evidence pointed to the boy wandering off. Foul play is not suspected. The boy was reunited with his family tired but unharmed.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7865 or afausto@ocregister.com