Has anyone considered the girl ran all the way to Texas to get away from her family. Maybe something just isnt right at home?

Outstanding News!

Great news!

So happy she was found. How scary for her family!

Prayers answered.

Tom Tumelty,

That's actually a rumor that is circulating in the community. Word being passed around from those who know her, is that they were surprised to hear she was autistic. I think it's safe to say this is a developing story.

I've had two conversations with this girl at school and had no idea she was autistic. She's very sweet though I personally would dig deeper for the cause

Tom,

She took her mother's car, drove to TEXAS, dyed her hair. What about that says to you that she DIDN'T run away?

As for the autism factor-she was not diagnosed with autism in middle school. And autism is usually something discovered at a very young age. I'm thinking it may be something mentioned to help gain attention in locating her. No one that I've talked to that knew her knew that she had autism.

It will all come out in the wash. It always does. But let's hope there are questions that get answered first before returning her directly home.

Think- No Driving Experience and she got to texas? She must of planed something! Or had people help her because she had no money and then how could she die her hair?

I teach autistic students in a high school setting- odd she was not classified before high school- it is usually elem school. they said she was asperger- they have social issues- but high functioning children always seem fine- but there is usually something there. Autistic child are on schedules and usually do not run away- something must be happening in her environment that scared her. needs to be addressed.

where she get money to buy gas- stay at places along the long trip- food to eat???? someone had to be with her

This sort of seems to be a "none of our business". Type of story. She's safe and accounted for. End of story........ There's a law known as HIPPA, that will prevent any further info to the general public(also known as mosey folks). Have a great evening.

People always s ay,"none of our business"and wait until something happens and then they say." I knew it and should have said something! that is a little to late. People should worry and question- Look at all the crazy things people do to people-

I am just so glad she is ok. My brother was autistic and I felt so badly for her. Whatever the story, I hope the proper social authorities look into it thoroughly to determine her true status and her parents. I pray for all of them.

None of our business unless she's coming from an abusive home. The police were tracking credit card transactions. She took her mom's credit card along with her car. It was posted on OC Patch, then taken down shortly afterwards because of confidentiality issues. If Natalie had access to the internet, the police didn't want her to see that. Thus the hair dye, gas, etc.

The bad thing is is that she ISNT autistic!

It is a blessing that she is safe and healthy! The rest of the comments here are speculation. This is a human being you are discussing...please be sensitive about what you say. When you are unaware of facts it is irresponsible to speculate. The important issue is that the community surrounded this family as a community should in a time of need. The support has been a gift to the family. However, with respect, this family has enough to process without dealing erroneous comments from strangers who are well meaning or merely gossiping. If this were your family member I am sure you would want people to show some care with their comments. Please show some common decency and treat others the way you would wish to be treated.

Thank God she's safe most situations don't turn out this way. Stop the gossip and give the family the privacy they deserve.

Thank God she was found. There is a LOT more to this story that will be unveiled as the days go on. She is a beautiful girl. All I can say is that we don't know the whole story AND you never know who you are living next door to. Perfectly normal looking families can turn out to be anything but normal - whatever normal is.

geez, the gossipers on here are sad and scary. Thank god she is safe.

Mesquite Police Department and Ptlm Chautin..........we owe you guys one. Thank you.

I'm glad to hear she's ok. A couple of things:

1. If people could have conversations with her and not realize she had austism then she probably has some MINOR neurological issues or personality disorder. A person with true autism would generally not venture that far out of their comfort zone let alone be capable of getting themselves all the way to Texas, dye their hair, etc. It sounds like a simple runaway story and the Autism reference thrown in for sympathy based on a flimsy diagnosis, probably Aspergers (which incidentally was just dropped from the DSM).

2. The proper term is a person with autism, not an autistic person. You don't call a person with cancer cancerous. I have two children with severe autism and I certainly understand and am not offended when someone says autistic, however I would expect the press to be a little more knowledgeable.

We are glad she is safe and healthy and on her way back home. Whether she meets the criteria of Autism or Aspergers, I don't know or really care. She's an Ocean City kid and this story could have gone the wrong way. Of which it did not, many of us are very grateful!

Have at it all of you that want to make autism a story! In a day or two, I may join the discussion. But for now, I am thanking God that this kid is okay and coming home. And I am thanking the police in Texas for what they have done.
That a 16 year old left 15th and Central in the middle of the night, and drove 1500 miles to Mesquite, Tx, yeah, that would suggest something is wrong. She wasn't going to the Eagles-Cowboys game I don't think...

But she's our kid.....she's not somebody else's kid, she's our kid. And I'm not saying that what she did wasn't outrageous and wrong. But she's okay!
We get another chance to make things right!

I'm sorry you feel that way. But I don't think Natalie Woollerton faked her autism and I don't think her family added it as a publicity stunt. But things will come out as time goes by.

I think everyone is glad that Natalie was found alive and safe. Nothing is scarier than when a child disappears without a trace.
Something interesting is how this situation prompts a lot of discussion about what is and is not autism. Many years ago there was a documentary filmmaker who brought his film to OC for screening because it was about one of the areas most well known personalities. The movie had 'Underdog' in the title and the film makers name was 'Boris'. You can probably find it on a movie database. Anyway, this person who was always considered 'eccentric' was diagnosed during the making of the film to have Aspergers. I went to a showing at the Music Pier and they talked a little bit about it after the movie.