The scariest day in my whole life

Can you think of this? The scariest day? I'm pretty comfortable knowing what day this was for me. It was right about this time back in 2003 and I was studying in Mexico. Irene was back in Texas with the boys, James and John. I get a call one night in my dormroom from Irene. She starts by saying, "First of all, everything is fine; everyone is okay."
I knew something was wrong.
She proceeds to tell me that John got lost at school.
"What!?!"
Some of you may not understand what a risk it is having kids with autism out in an open area without the ability to be with them at all times. They don't know what it means to wander and that's exactly what John did. You see, at his school, there's a large playground and it is separated from a major road by chain-link fence. What, up to this point, had gone unnoticed was that there was a large drainage ditch that passed under this road and actually connected the playground with the neighborhood on the other side of this road.
Do you see where this is going?
Nobody noticed John wander away because there were 7 other kids in his class that were also drawing attention for whatever little autistic eccentricities they have. Nobody saw him disappear into the drainage ditch and then come up on the other side. All in all, he was missing for approximately 30 minutes. The school went on complete lockdown and doubled up classes so that teachers could help search the grounds. The police were called. The entire school was in a panic and, rightly so. My three-year-old autistic son was wandering around a neighborhood all by himself and nobody knew he was there. Then, God showed an older woman this small boy wandering around by himself without an adult in sight and he wasn't responding to her. She called the police who were already patrolling the area looking for him. They picked him up and took him back to the school.
I can't imagine Irene's true feelings through this. She arrived at the school to have the principal come out to her to tell her that John was missing. His teacher was so beside herself in tears that she couldn't even face Irene. And almost immediately after Irene received this news they received the call that John was found and was okay.
He was already lost and found by the time I heard the story but it still scared me more than anything that's ever happened to me. Just the possibilities of what could've happened. It still gives me a funny feeling just to think about it.
Thank God, He's watching out for us!