When Andrew Ong ran away from his Camberwell home on Monday, he left a long note on the kitchen table, grabbed his myki and backpack, and headed to the train station.
His parents were beside themselves. "He's very upset with himself, and that's why he's taken off. We just want him to know it's OK, he's not in any trouble, just to come home," his mother, Cindy Ong, said at a press conference that afternoon.
The Ongs said the 11-year-old was feeling ashamed after being caught handing his friends treats while he was on duty at his school canteen.
Andrew left home about 8.30am Monday, and was found by Protective Services Officers outside McDonald's at Melbourne Central train station less than 12 hours later, at 7.30pm.
Related Content
Tasmanian woman Rebecca Ainslie said she was there the moment Andrew was found.
Ms Ainslie and her friend were in Melbourne for a short stay. On Monday evening, they watched the news and saw a photo of Andrew.
"We saw on the news that this boy was missing," she said.
"We were going to the movies at Melbourne Central, it was our first time there, and we just stopped off to grab something to eat before the movie.
"And he was just sitting there. He's missing in the whole of Melbourne, and he's right there. That's him!
"Part of us was like, 'Oh my God, we are among the news.'"
Ms Ainslie said she recognised Andrew's shirt, "with the white bits on the front" and the backpack, from the news that night.
She said the 11-year-old was alone at a table outside McDonald's when the PSOs spotted him.
"He was just sitting there and then the officers walked up to him, there was one and then there was a few [officers]," she said.
"He wasn't stressed, and they offered to buy him McDonald's, but he declined."
The officers whisked the Camberwell boy away shortly after, back to his worried parents.