OLYMPIA, Wash. — Phillip Jackson delivers hundreds of cases of beer and wine to businesses around Thurston County.
Wednesday he helped deliver a lost 5-year-old to the boy’s mother.
“Something was wrong, definitely,” said Jackson.
He said around 6 a.m. on Wednesday, while making a delivery to a west Olympia Texaco, he noticed a young boy walk into the convenience store by himself.
“I noticed he had no shoes or shirt on,” said Jackson, “Next thing I know, he grabs a bag of M&Ms and ran out the door. So I instantly called 911, not because he stole it, but because he's a little kid and there's no adult around in sight."
Two minutes earlier the boy’s mother also called 911 to report her son was missing.
“He’s not verbal and autistic, he’s only five years old,” the mother told the dispatcher.
Jackson followed the boy back to an apartment complex parking lot near the Texaco.
Within moments the mother spotted her son in the parking lot.
She was still on the phone with the dispatcher.
"I got him, I got him, I got him, I got him, I got him,” she was heard saying on the 911 recording.
Jackson said the mother was grateful, and the boy was not harmed.
Jackson credited his actions to training he recently received at his employer, Columbia Distributing.
Earlier this year the company required all 3,000 of its employees to undergo training on how to spot victims of sex trafficking or children in trouble, according to Learning and Development Director Nick Bade.
He said the company was thrilled to hear Jackson saw something odd and took action.
"I'm very proud of the fact you can see the results, right, of the training we did,” said Bade, “Now something like this happens, you're like, 'Ah, that's perfect, they did exactly what they needed to do.'"
Jackson said he was glad he could help. He offered to pay for the M&Ms but said the owner of the Texaco would not let him.
Watch KING 5's top stories playlist: