Missing boy found safe, father arrested in Independence, California

A 4-year-old California boy and his father who went missing under “suspicious circumstances” have been found in Independence, California, police announced Thursday.

Earlier Thursday, police in Atascadero, California, had issued a press release saying the two may be headed to Kern County or Nevada.

Cody Parrott, 31, and his son, Noah, were reported missing Thursday morning to the Atascadero Police Department.

Police said that their disappearance involved “suspicious circumstances” and that they were last seen sometime Wednesday night at Parrott’s home in Atascadero, which is equidistant from Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“During our investigation, we learned that the resident, Cody Parrott, had been acting irrational,” the department said in a press release.

Police later learned Parrott was in Inyo County, and investigators focused their search efforts to U.S. Highway 395 in between Sequoia National Park and Death Valley National Park, Atascadero police said later Thursday.

At 3:35 p.m., California Highway Patrol officers attempted a traffic stop on Parrott’s car near Independence, but he failed to yield. He was eventually stopped and arrested for evading officers and child endangerment.

Noah was found safe in the car, and he is now in the care of the California Highway Patrol. Officials are making arrangements to reunite him with his family, Atascadero police said.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Katelyn Newberg contributed to this report.