By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

MELANIE Forbes said she received her best Mother’s Day gift when her missing 10-year-old son returned safely home Saturday evening.

Ms Forbes reported Tameco Cartwright, a 4th grade student of E P Roberts Primary School, missing Friday evening when he failed to return home from school.

Police issued a missing persons bulletin early Saturday morning.

Ms Forbes said the 24 hours her son was missing was the toughest time of her life and all she could do was cry and pray.

Fortunately, she said her prayers were answered when she got a phone call late Saturday telling her Tameco had been found and was safe. Mrs Forbes called it – a mother’s day miracle.

“I dropped him off to school around 7:30 Friday morning and went to work. I got home around 6pm and he wasn’t there. I know that he usually goes to a game room after school so I went there looking for him, but he wasn’t there either. I started to get scared a little, but I was not freaking out yet. I asked a few of his friends if they saw him and they said they didn’t, so I started calling up my family and everyone said they did not see him or heard from him. I started to worry and panic and just started praying and talking to God, begging him to return my son home safe,” she said.

“I decided it was time to go to the police. So I went to the Grove Police Station and I filed a missing person report and went back home. I couldn’t sleep, I just sat on his bed and cried and cried and prayed and prayed. I cried until I had no more tears left. I just talked to God and the next thing I knew it was 6am and the phone was ringing. It was the police, they asked me if he had returned and I said no. The officer then told me someone from the Central Detective Unit would contact me and an officer came to my house a short time later.”

Ms Forbes said the officer asked her a few routine questions and then they went for a drive to look for Tameco. It was during that drive she said she got the call she had been waiting for.

“My neighbour called and said ‘I have him’. I think my heart started beating again. We went back home and there he was, like nothing had happened. I was too happy to be angry,” she said.

“He told us he went by a friend and spent the night. I spoke to the woman who was in the house where he stayed and she told me, her grandson said that I was out of town and so she didn’t bother contacting me. I was so stressed and had such a headache, I was just thankful he was home and alive. I do not even know how to describe it. I could only imagine how parents feel knowing their child is missing. It is not a good feeling.”

Mrs Forbes said Tameco is not totally out the woods yet and as soon as she catches her breath she will think of a suitable punishment. But for now, she said she is thankful for another Mother’s Day with her son.