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Police say 9-year-old autistic boy kidnapped, killed near Miami

Alejandro Ripley was found dead not far from where he was taken, authorities said. Photo courtesy Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement
Alejandro Ripley was found dead not far from where he was taken, authorities said. Photo courtesy Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement

May 22 (UPI) -- An autistic 9-year-old Florida boy who police say was "ambushed" by two men and taken from his mother's car has turned up dead, authorities said Friday.

Investigators said Alejandro Ripley was driving with his mother in an area west of Miami called The Hammocks on Thursday when their car was sideswiped by another vehicle. When the mother pulled over, police said the two men in the other car blocked her escape and demanded drugs.

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"She says she does not have any drugs, and so the passenger at that point reaches in, grabs her cellphone, steals her cellphone and takes her child," said Miami-Dade Police Detective Angel Rodriguez.

The Hammocks is about 15 miles southwest of downtown Miami.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Friday Alejandro, a non-verbal autistic boy, was found dead in a lake in southwest Miami-Dade County less than five miles from where he was reported kidnapped.

"We are very sad to report that the child was found deceased," the department said in a tweet.

According to detectives investigating the abduction, the mother said she didn't recognize the kidnappers, who are still at large.

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