GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – An 11-year-old boy who was reported missing from his home Friday night in Green Cove Springs and was found safe the next morning has been removed from his home by the Department of Children and Families.
Donald Benjamin Henderson, known as Benny, was reported missing by his mother at 10:30 p.m. Friday. It turned out he was sleeping over at a friend's house and the friend's family brought him into the police station at 8 a.m. Saturday after seeing a statewide Missing Child Alert for Benny.
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"He said they were playing video games, and it was midnight before he realized," said Crystal Henderson, Benny's mother. "I know he's afraid of the dark so they said he could spend the night rather than walk home."
Benny's family was interviewed that day by police and DCF. After that meeting and a visit to Henderson's house at 108 Citizen St., DCF determined there were "major safety concerns" about the living conditions for Benny and his two siblings. DCF took the three children into protective custody this weekend.
Police are still investigating the circumstances that led to the missing child alert being issued.