Tragic end : Timothy Wallace , 9 , was struck and killed by a train in rural Tennessee Sunday night after he took off from a relative 's home . A 9-year-old autistic boy from Tennessee was struck and killed by a train Sunday night after he wandered away from a relative 's home on his own . Timothy Wallace was staying at his aunt 's house in Sale Creek Sunday when he went missing at around 10pm Sunday . Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond said Timothy , a third-grader at Griffith Elementary School in Dunlap , was non-verbal and had walked away from home in the past . After an hour-long search in heavy rain and dense fog , rescuers came upon the 9-year-old 's body along railroad track near Coulterville Road in rural Tennessee . Investigators later determine that Timothy was struck and killed by a northbound Norfolk Southern train . The operators of the train told sheriff ’ s deputies they did not know the locomotive had struck a child . Timothy Wallace ’ s grieving mother recalled to the station WRCB that her son , who was severely autistic , saw a train for the first time just a couple of days ago and seemed amused by it . Scroll down for video . Heartbreaking find : A worker on a passing train spotted Timothy 's body in the brush along the train tracks in Sale Creek . Missing boy : Wallace was staying at his aunt 's house ( pictured ) Sunday when he wandered off . When Timothy 's family reported him missing Sunday night , they told deputies they did not know in which direction the child may have taken off . According to The Chattanoogan , he left the house barefoot wearing only a shirt and a pair of shorts . A worker aboard a passing train spotted Timothy 's body in the brush near the tracks at around 11pm and raised the alarm . The third-grader was discovered dead less than a mile from his aunt 's residence in Sale Creek . The youngest of five siblings , as well as several half-brothers and sisters , Timothy was described by his cousin Sonia Stuart as intelligent and loving . Desperate search : Rescuers spent an hour scouring the area in heavy rain and dense fog , but it was too late . ‘ He was special in his own way , and we will miss him terribly as a family , ’ said an emotional Ms Stuart . Officials with the Tennessee Department of Children 's Services told News Channel 9 they have a 'history ' with Timothy 's family and will launch an investigation of their own into the boy 's tragic death .
Timothy Wallace , third-grader from Tennessee , was discovered dead near train tracks in Sale Creek Sunday night . He had been missing since Saturday morning when he went to school with his father and brother. Timothy 's mother said he had seen a train for the first time just a couple of days prior to tragedy .