He wandered off at the beach and was lost for several hours. It was horrifying! Endured a couple false reports of a found child. Finally got a call from the police that a lost boy fitting the description of our son was found at the beach near us.
When we arrived he was there having a great time with another family of strangers. We asked how he found them and he told us when he couldn’t find our beach house he asked a grandma for help. They called the police and made him comfortable. Turned out to be only a few houses down from where we were staying.
23 years later that’s still the most helpless and terrifying few hours of my life.