San Jose, CA – Child with autism, Sergio Zepeda was found naked and suffering from the cold by residents living in a homeless camp off of a main highway. He’d been reported missing for 17 hours.
Camp resident Jose Salmeron, 32, found the boy strolling through the camp early Sunday and quickly offered him something to eat and drink and a blanket while another called 9-1-1.
Salmeron and his helping friend were interviewed by San Jose Mercury News and had this humbling thing to say:
“We’re not heroes. It was the only right thing to do. When you see a helpless kid like that, you are supposed to do the right thing, and just call the cops right away. Thank God he didn’t get hit by a train, or fall into the water.”
The San Jose police had been looking for him and thanked the residents for keeping Zepeda safe from harm.
San Jose Police Lt. Jason Herr was interviewed by KTVU and had this to say:
“They did exactly what needed to be done. They took care of him and called 9-1-1. Case closed.”
Salmeron and his friend insist that they were only doing what was right, but that’s not stopping the police department from nominating them for a Good Samaritan Award, and reward for this life saving deed.
The original article by Kimberly Yam in the Huffington Post can be read here