A missing 12-year-old boy was found shortly before noon Thursday after the Helena Police Department got a reply to an emergency phone notification message.

Shortly after 11 a.m., the HPD sent out an automatic emergency phone message to most of the south side of Helena.

The boy had last been seen in the Mount Ascension area south of Broadway Avenue.

He was found in the same area when a resident saw him after receiving the phone message and called the police.

Police officials said foul play was never suspected when the boy went missing. The boy was not residing with his parents, and his guardians were simply trying to locate him, they said.