4-year-old boy with autism drowns on Staten Island beach

A 4-year-old autistic boy drowned on a Staten Island beach when he disappeared during a family gathering late Sunday, cops and police sources said. 

The boy, from Staten Island, went missing from the barbecue area at Lincoln Avenue and Father Capodanno Boulevard at Midland Beach at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said. After his mother reported him missing, responding officers found him in the water 15 feet from the shore, floating facedown, according to authorities and the sources.