HOLLYWOOD, Md. — A St. Mary's County sheriff's deputy entered a body of water, swam to a missing 9-year-old and brought the child safely to shore during a coordinated search Friday, July 17, according to the sheriff's office account reported by multiple Maryland outlets.
Watch the sheriff's office bodycam release
Video source: St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office, published as an edited body-worn-camera release and hosted above through WBFF's public player media URL. Watch the sheriff's office's official public Reel on Facebook if the embedded video does not load. The agency edited the footage to protect the child's privacy.
Multi-agency search located the child in water
Deputies responded to a report that a 9-year-old child with autism was missing in the Hollywood area, according to the sheriff's office account published by The BayNet and Southern Maryland News Net.
The search brought together the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office, Maryland State Police from the Leonardtown Barrack, Maryland Natural Resources Police, the Maryland State Police Aviation Command's Trooper 7, the county Department of Emergency Services and local fire and emergency medical agencies.
Responders located the child in a nearby body of water. The public reports say Deputy Matthew Camp immediately entered the water, swam to the child and brought him back to shore.
Child evaluated and reunited with family
Medical personnel evaluated the child at the scene before the family was reunited. The sheriff's office said the child was doing well after the rescue.
ThinBlueNews is not publishing the child's name, precise location or additional medical detail. The embedded 29-second video is the privacy-edited version released by the sheriff's office; it shows only part of the response.
WBFF FOX45 reported July 20 that the sheriff's office released the edited footage to highlight the teamwork and professionalism of the responding agencies while protecting the child's privacy. The public video shows Camp moving through the water with the child and other responders taking over near shore.
A coordinated public-safety response
The rescue combined a rapid ground search, state police and Natural Resources Police support, aviation availability and local fire and EMS resources. Camp's decision to enter the water became the final link in that larger response.
Readers can find more verified public-safety work in ThinBlueNews' bodycam rescue videos, police rescue news, police hero stories and first responder news coverage.
Sources, video and visual attribution
- St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office official Facebook Reel: the agency's edited body-worn-camera release of the July 17 water rescue.
- WBFF FOX45: “WATCH: Maryland deputy rescues missing child with autism from water,” published July 20, 2026 and updated that evening. WBFF supplies the public 29-second publisher-hosted MP4 used by the embedded player and attributes the footage to the sheriff's office.
- The BayNet: “Water Rescue: Deputy Saves Missing 9-Year-Old With Autism In Hollywood,” published July 20, 2026. The local report identifies Camp, the assisting agencies, the official Reel and the child's post-rescue evaluation.
- Southern Maryland News Net: “Missing Child with Autism Found in Water, Rescued by St. Mary's Deputy,” published July 20, 2026. The local report independently reproduces the sheriff's office account and confirms the positive outcome.
Featured-image note: The image is a true frame from the privacy-edited St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office bodycam video. It shows Camp carrying the child at a distance in shallow water; the child remains blurred as released by the agency. ThinBlueNews cropped the frame to 1200 by 630 pixels and added a factual headline and source credit. No incident content was generated or substituted.
If an agency representative, responder or reader sees anything that should be corrected or updated, please contact ThinBlueNews through our corrections and editorial standards page.