Homeless Man Saves Missing 6-Year-Old in Miami

A child was missing for more than 12 hours in Miami, and the person who saved him was someone most people walk right past without a second glance.

Arnett Johnson has been sleeping on a bench near Seventh Avenue and Seventeenth Street for months. Last Wednesday evening, he noticed something that didn't feel right: a young boy, maybe six years old, walking alone as the sun went down.

"I'm looking around for the parent, but I looked and I don't see nobody," Johnson said. "So what is this kid doing out here seven at night?"

While others kept walking, Johnson stopped. He called police and stayed with the child until officers arrived, making sure the boy was safe while help was on the way.

Miami police officers praised Johnson's quick thinking. "This was a Good Samaritan that was sleeping in the streets and called us and gave us that information," said Officer Mike Vega. "Kudos to him, as we don't know what could have happened to this child if he would have remained out in the street."

The boy told investigators that his mother had dropped him off and left him there. She was later arrested on child neglect charges, and the boy is now safe.

Sunny's Take

Johnson has every reason to focus only on his own survival. After serving time in prison, he's been living on the streets, facing challenges most of us can't imagine.

But when it mattered most, he chose to look outward instead of inward. He saw a child who needed help and gave the most valuable things he had: his time, his attention, and his care.

When reporters called him a hero, Johnson brushed it off completely. "Anybody would have done the same thing I did," he said.

Maybe that's true, but on that particular Wednesday evening in Miami, he was the one who did.