4-year-old boy missing from Charlotte apartment found safe

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Authorities have found the 4-year-old boy who went missing Friday morning in south Charlotte.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police found Justin Villeda Idiarte around 9 a.m. at a neighbor's apartment.

Officers said the boy went to the apartment, which was less than 100 yards away from his, and told the person who lived there that his parents weren't home.

Justin had disappeared from an apartment on Montcrest Drive just before 1 a.m.

During a news conference, police told WSOC that Justin's mother said she thought she heard her son get up and go to the bathroom. She said she fell back asleep and then later realized that her son was no longer there.

The family searched for Justin for roughly 30 minutes before calling police.

Later in the morning, officials deployed a helicopter over the neighborhood to help with search efforts. It is equipped with a heat-sensing device, which firefighters are using to check all bodies of water near his home.