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Alejandro Ripley: Body of missing 9-year-old Florida boy with autism found

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MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — A 9-year-old boy with autism who was abducted in Miami-Dade County has been found dead, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

An Amber Alert for Alejandro Ripley had been issued Thursday night.

Miami-Dade police Detective Angel Rodriguez said the boy's mother, Patricia Ripley, 47, was driving west on Southwest 88th Street near Southwest 157th Avenue when she noticed she was being followed by a light blue, four-door sedan.

Rodriguez said the driver tried to side-swipe Ripley's car, forcing her to veer onto Southwest 158th Avenue.

The car then blocked her as a passenger got out of the car, ambushing Ripley and demanding drugs from her, Rodriguez said.

Ripley told the man she didn't have any drugs, at which time he snatched her son and cellphone, Rodriguez said. He then got back in the car, which sped away.

The FDLE didn't say how the boy died, and Miami-Dade police have not immediately commented.

This story was originally published by Peter Burke on WPTV in Palm Beach, Florida.