Home Again : Missing 6-Year-Old Back From Unscheduled Camping Trip

A 6-year-old Lake View Terrace boy who had been reported missing for nearly a week returned home safe Monday from what Los Angeles police described as an “all-expenses-paid vacation” at a Malibu campground.

Police had been feverishly searching for J.B. McNickles since he was reported missing Wednesday. And J.B.’s foster parents, Odell and Edna Williams, had begun to fear the worst.

“We thought something had happened,” said Edna Williams. “I thought he might have gotten picked up, or he might have hurt himself somewhere.”

At home Monday, a sheepish J.B. said he had just wanted to go camping. He said camp officials only asked him his name, not why he was among the group of campers.

But when his stay at the camp lasted a little longer than he expected, the youngster admitted: “I got a little scared.”

“He was afraid when he got back we would be gone,” his foster mother said. “I was just so glad to see him.

“He said, ‘Mom, I went to camp. I had a good time. I swam.’ He said he thought about us. Apparently he didn’t know he was going to be gone that long. I’m happy. It wasn’t his fault.”

J.B. was dropped off by his father at the Boys & Girls Club of San Fernando Valley in the 11200 block of Glenoaks Boulevard shortly before noon Wednesday, said Los Angeles Police Lt. Robert Stemples of the Foothill Division.

Children’s Group

That was the last time his father saw him until a neighbor brought him home Monday.

J.B.’s adventure began when he wandered over to a church near the Boys & Girls Club where a group of children were boarding a club-chartered bus bound for Knott’s Berry Farm and eventually to a Salvation Army campground in Malibu Canyon.

“He heard the bus was going, and he jumped on it,” Stemples said. “Nobody detected him. I don’t think he was trying to stow away or hide out. I think he just thought he was going camping. And he was whisked away for an all-expenses-paid vacation.”

Edna Williams, 63, said she called police after J.B. was not waiting for her outside the club at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

On Thursday, police conducted searches in neighborhoods around the club and around the family’s home in the 11600 block of Tripoli Avenue.

“The police went to all the houses distributing flyers, putting pictures everywhere,” J.B.’s foster mother said.

Finally, the bus returned Monday from the camp. One of Williams’ neighbors recognized J.B. and returned him to his grateful parents.

Williams and her husband said they are upset with the Boys & Girls Club as well as with the Salvation Army. Officials of those groups could not be reached for comment Monday.

‘Really Upset’

“They should have known something was wrong,” Edna Williams said. “I’m really upset with the camp, that they took him away for those many days without any information whatsoever.

“He did not have what they required him to take. They give you a list of what to bring. He didn’t have nothing. Not even a toothbrush. That should have told them something.

Meanwhile, authorities are still investigating the matter. “We’re not sure which agency dropped the ball,” Stemples said. “The bottom line is, the kid’s healthy, and we’re tickled to have him back. He really enjoyed himself.”