Former child star Debra Byrne has expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the public after her missing teenage grandson, Aaron, was found safe late on Monday. The 19-year-old, who has special needs and requires medication four times daily, disappeared during a family outing in St Helena, Melbourne, on Sunday afternoon.
Aaron resurfaced late on Monday after presenting himself at the Alfred Hospital in Prahran, approximately 30 kilometres from where he went missing. Byrne, 69, told Seven News that Aaron was exhausted and dehydrated but was 'doing well'.
'Deborah is incredibly happy and grateful,' said Seven News reporter Kirsty Maher after interviewing the relieved grandmother off-camera. '[And she] wanted to extend her thanks to everyone who looked for him on what has been a harrowing 28 hours of searching.'
The good news came after Byrne, who has raised Aaron since birth, made an emotional plea for help during an appearance on Seven News. 'I worry that he's very vulnerable, you know, he could get in someone's car, but he's not a child, he's a man, but he's a child, you know,' she said, shedding tears. 'Oh God, I hated that he was in my care.'
Byrne and her grandson had joined family members to watch a hockey game at the Greensborough Hockey Centre in St Helena, 23 km from the Melbourne CBD, when he vanished. Sharing details of his disappearance, Byrne said that Aaron, who presents as an eight-year-old child, had become bored with the match. He told his grandmother he was going to collect cans for recycling, and the last time she saw him, around 1 pm, he was carrying a full bag of cans. She also noted that her grandson had no money, phone, or food and had not taken his required medication since Sunday.
On Monday, the family learned that Aaron had checked into the Austin Hospital in Heidelberg. However, before Byrne could reach him, Aaron discharged himself around 9 pm. He was later reunited with his family after presenting at the Alfred Hospital.
Byrne has raised Aaron and his older brother Oliver all their lives. Her daughter Lauren is intellectually impaired and was unable to consistently care for her children, so Debra was granted full custody of the two boys.
Byrne was one of the original cast members of Young Talent Time, which debuted in 1971, and starred on the show for four years. The performer experienced a mid-career resurgence with key roles in Australian productions of Cats, Les Misérables, and Sunset Boulevard. She revealed her struggles with heroin and cocaine in her 2006 memoir Not Quite Ripe, while a sex tape featuring her and a former partner was leaked to the media in the late 1980s.
