Southworth resident Cheryl Sampson said she is very grateful her 7-year-old grandson Lucas was found safe and sound Sunday after a frantic night of searching, and that for the foreseeable future, he would be under her careful watch.

“I’m in charge of him now,” Sampson said, adding that she was now driving him to and from school at East Port Orchard Elementary.

Lucas Sampson was reported missing around 9 p.m. Dec. 5 by his family, which had not seen him since earlier that afternoon.

Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Deputy Scott Wilson said the second-grader was last seen by his father around 4 p.m. at his home on the 3500 block of Harris Road, but when the father awoke from a nap on the couch, the boy was gone.

The father checked with friends and family, but did not locate him. He said his son has been known to leave the house without permission and return later.

Cheryl Sampson said her grandson has left without permission on occasion, but that he always stayed nearby and came home within an hour or so.

Saturday night, Sampson said her grandson went to the house of a 13-year-old whom “he didn’t even know the last name of,” and the boys asked the older one’s mother if Lucas could stay over.

“She said he could if he called his dad, but she didn’t call (herself),” Sampson said, explaining that no call was made to her son regarding where Lucas was staying.

“Parents need to make sure that if kids are staying at their house, their parents know where they are,” she said. “What if something happens to them? They wouldn’t know who to call.”

Since temperatures Saturday night dipped below freezing, everyone looking for Lucas was very concerned for his safety. Wilson said a search-and-rescue mission was launched around midnight, with three dogs being utilized.

“I can’t thank the volunteers enough,” Sampson said. “When I heard Lucas was missing, I broke down. I thought he was dead.”

Fortunately, Lucas was found the next morning by Sampson’s daughter and husband, who drove around the neighborhood, hoping to spot the boy’s bicycle. And just around the corner from Lucas’ house, they did.

“My daughter only saw like six inches of the handle bars, but she jumped out and started banging on the lady’s door,” Sampson said.

Now that her grandson is home safe, Sampson said she appreciated the response from local law enforcement.

“I am amazed at how fast the Sheriff’s Office set up their command post,” she said. “And we would really like to thank the search-and-rescue (volunteers). They didn’t even hesitate.”