Smyrna, GA -- A 9-year-old boy from Smyrna is safe at home after giving his family and police quite a scare overnight.
Kevin Perez was first reported missing from the Carriage House Apartments on Windy Hill Road around 11 p.m. on Friday night.
At 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Smyrna police found Perez at a friend's house, where investigators said he spent the night without telling his mom.
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"He's not in trouble with me," said Miriam Perez, Kevin's mother. "I kissed and hugged him. I'm very happy and appreciative of police."
Smyrna Police never had any evidence of an abduction, but they launched an intensive search nonetheless.
They went door-to-door in the Carriage House Apartments, where Perez lives with his family, and they searched four neighboring complexes.
They interviewed all registered sex offenders within a two-mile radius, went through dumpsters and checked vacant apartments.
"Anytime we have a child that goes missing, we take it very seriously and pull out all the stops so we can find them safely," said Smyrna Police Officer Michael Smith.
Smyrna Police called the GBI but did not issue a Levi's Call, which requires evidence of an abduction.
The Smyrna Fire Department, Cobb County Sheriff's Office, Cobb County Fire and Dobbins Fire Department joined the search by early Saturday morning.
"Everybody was very excited when he was found safely," Officer Smith said.