LA MESA, Calif. — A 4-year-old boy is home safe in La Mesa after reportedly packing a bag and attempting to walk to his grandmother's home early Monday morning.
La Mesa Police Department received a call from a concerned citizen around 4:21 a.m. reporting that a child was seen walking alone near Dallas Street and Fletcher Parkway in La Mesa.
According to a sergeant with La Mesa Police Department, the 4-year-old boy packed his Paw Patrol-themed backpack with snacks, changed out of his pajamas, and put on shoes before leaving home to begin his adventure.
The child told officers he was "walking to grandma's house."
Officers told CBS 8 the child was found less than a quarter-mile from the apartment he went missing from about 20 minutes after he had left and that he was nowhere near where his grandmother lived.
Authorities determined where the child went missing by spotting an apartment with an open front door. The parents were still asleep when officers entered the home and were reportedly startled to wake up to officers in their home with their once-missing child.
La Mesa police has a policy to launch search-and-rescue operations for any person reported missing quickly.
"The La Mesa Police Department does not consider any report of a missing person to be routine and assumes that the missing person is in need of immediate assistance until an investigation reveals otherwise," according to LMPD policy.
The child was ultimately returned home, safe, with his parents.
WATCH RELATED: Search for missing kids from San Diego who were last seen in Tijuana
