Iowa State Patrol officers reunited an 11-year-old with his father after the boy had been missing for about eight hours during RAGBRAI on Monday.

“It just worked out for us,” said Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Scott Bright. “We were standing out here in the heat and noticed him.”

A Chicago man notified Bright his son was missing at about 7:30 a.m. Monday near Harlan. A missing person report was filed with the sheriff’s office, and the father looked for his son all morning and into the afternoon, Bright said.

At about 3 p.m., Bright and Iowa State Patrol Trooper Scott Miller noticed the boy riding in a pack of cyclists near the intersection of County Highways P46 and F31.

“We hollered his name, and he just kept going,” Bright said. “We had to catch up to him in a squad car.”

The boy did not appear to be scared, Bright said. In fact, Bright noted how mature the 11-year-old appeared to be.

“He thought his dad was ahead of him,” Bright said. “He was just going to keep going.”

After about 30 minutes of sitting in the back of a squad car, the boy was reunited with his father, Bright said. Bright also notified the boy’s mother, who remained at home in Chicago.

The boy’s mother described the incident as a “bad experience,” but “all’s well that ends well,” she said.

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