A young missing Special Olympics athlete who was last seen at LAX Monday morning was found hours later in Inglewood, police said.
The 15-year-old from Ivory Coast was first reported missing from his group about 6:30 a.m. at the airport, according to Rob Pedregon, a spokesman for Los Angeles Airport Police Department.
Police looked through surveillance camera feeds and saw that the last location they spotted the athlete was at when he left the Los Angeles International Airport property at 96th Street and Sepulveda Boulevard at 5:57 a.m.
“He had just wandered off on his own,” Pedregon said.
Police initially said the teen’s name was Shion Isimel, but later identified him as Sihon Ange Ismael Kone.
The Los Angeles Police Department’s Pacific Division took over the search, authorities said, because investigators believed the athlete had left airport property.
About 3:45 p.m., Inglewood police Lt. James Kirk said the young man was found in Inglewood.
Minutes earlier, he was spotted lying on a lawn in the 600 block of East Hyde Park Boulevard, LAPD Cmdr. Dennis Kato said. Officers who found him were unable to speak to him in French, but they used hand gestures to confirm he had eaten, and they provided him with water, Kato said.
He was reunited with Ivorian delegates at Pacific Division just before 6 p.m.
During the eight-hour search, police looked in nearby parking structures, lots, bus depots and restaurants, Pedregon said.
Pedregon said the teen has autism and may have become confused after leaving the airport.
“It’s not like someone who is walking away, trying to leave intentionally,” Pedregon said.
Police announced the teen was missing hours after locating a second missing athlete who participated in the 2015 Special Olympics World Games.
Andi Gussmari was located early Monday morning in Hayward after last being seen Saturday night at a festival at the University of Southern California.
The 44-year-old athlete walked into a Hayward police station in the early morning hours, Los Angeles Police Department officials said. It was not known how he got to the station, which was located some 366 miles from USC, according to Google maps.
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