BUFFALO, N.Y. — For hours overnight and this morning police around Western New York were looking for 38 year-old Rose Mudd of Cheektowaga, and her 10 year-old son, Thomas.
They're both safe, but there were still questions about what happened.
Buffalo Police held a press conference Thursday afternoon to try and explain what they could.
We're told this all started at about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. They were last seen around this time at the Hard Rock Cafe in Niagara Falls. This was where a school field trip had concluded that day.
Police spokesperson, Captain Jeff Rinaldo tells 2 On Your Side the mother and son were supposed to go to a music recital in Buffalo, at 3:30 p.m. When they didn't show show up, her husband called 911 from the event.
This explains why Buffalo Police handled the missing person's case, even though the family is from Cheektowaga.
"This woman and her child made a final communication with her husband, not of a threatening nature..." explained Capt. Rinaldo. "She had contacted via text and just said, 'I'm not gonna make it.' and basically fell off the face of the earth."
Buffalo Police attribute finding the mother and son quickly to the speed of information shared on social media.
Thanks to a tip, Niagara County Sheriff's deputies tracked down their car to Wheatfield.
Capt. Rinaldo told reporters that Rose was interviewed by the deputies and transported to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, "When they performed the traffic stop, they were able to speak to her roadside...and based on their interaction with her, they felt that a medical evaluation was necessary."
Thomas, we're told, was found unharmed and in good spirits.
"He's currently reunited with his dad," added Rinaldo. "And now it's a matter for the family to make sure that everybody gets the help that they need...and something like this doesn't happen again."
Despite social media helping track down the mother and son, it was also the source of quite a bit of confusion during the search process.
"There was some social media reports being posted, not by us, but by other persons, [stating] that the mother may have been in a safe house. We were never able to confirm that information," said Capt. Rinaldo.
