FAIRVIEW TWP — The search for a missing 15-year-old boy ended happily Saturday night when he was found stuck up a tree — but uninjured — near his home on Beech Road.

The boy, who reportedly suffers from autism, left his home between 5:30 and 6 p.m., after arguing with his parents, authorities said.

His parents notified state police when he did not return after a while, prompting a search by troopers and local firefighters. The Petrolia Volunteer Fire Department was called in about 7:50 p.m. The Butler County sheriff’s dog also was summoned to help.

Chicora volunteer firefighters and another police dog were on the way to join in the search about 9 p.m. when the boy was found up a tree in dense woods.

“He was located about 200 yards from his residence,” said Chief Chuck Barnes of the Petrolia VFD. “He had climbed a tree and got his foot stuck in a ‘V’ in the tree.”

That V-shaped juncture on which the boy’s foot was wedged, Barnes explained, was formed by the merging of two branches.

The youth was about 10 feet up the tree and hanging partially upside down.

Rescuers helped him out of his predicament, and the boy was returned home safe and unharmed.