Special Needs Student Found in Hills Above Lakeland Village

A three-day search for a missing special needs student ended successfully this afternoon when rescuers found him unharmed in the hills above Wildomar.

David Allen Soto, 18, had been missing since he walked away from the Elsinore High School campus Tuesday afternoon. He is autistic and suffers from schizophrenia. Searchers combed the area for three days before finding the young man in good health in a wooded area above Lakeland Village.

The search of that area began Thursday after a citizen called the Riverside County Sheriff’s Dispatch and said she saw Soto at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Ontario Way in Lakeland Village. She said she saw him on Tuesday around 9 a.m., walking through a vacant property. A patrol team responded to the area and began searching.

Later that morning, a search team responded to the location and met with the citizen. Based on the citizen’s information, a trail of shoe impressions was located. A search dog was able to follow the scent, which led the search team into the hills. After following the scent for about two miles into the hills, Soto was located. According to police, he was happy and appeared to be in good health.

The locating search team consisted of members from the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit, Riverside County Search Dogs, Riverside County Sheriff’s SWAT Team, Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station Detective Bureau and a Riverside County Sheriff’s helicopter.