A young autistic and non-verbal boy has gone missing in Perth’s western suburbs, with locals braving terrible wet and windy weather overnight to join the search for the 11-year-old.

Norman Krakouer was wearing only a pair of blue shorts when he was last seen in Mt Claremont just after 5pm on Saturday night.

It’s believed he went missing from near a house in Lantana Avenue.

Police urged the public to help and they did, joining a big contingent of officers to search the suburb with efforts concentrated around Lake Claremont throughout Saturday night.

That large-scale search has continued Sunday, with SES volunteers joining police on foot and horseback as well as desperate members of the public.

Norman is known to frequent playgrounds and climb trees.

He is described as 140-150cm tall and of skinny build.

Police asked people not to approach the boy if they see him but rather call police immediately, because the young boy has difficulty communicating and is likely to run away from strangers.

A search command post has been set up at Claremont Showground and police are expected to provide an update on the search at 9am.