Radio show helps locate man with learning difficulties lost for 4 days
Print Edition
A South Korean man with learning difficulties was reunited with his family yesterday after going missing for four days, thanks to a local radio show and a sharp-eared official at a homeless shelter.
Lee Jae Yeong, 19, disappeared on Sunday after setting off for a grocery store near his home in the Gubei area of Changning District.
When he failed to return, Lee’s family reported the incident to the authorities, and on Wednesday took to social media to alert the public to the matter.
They were worried as Lee is unable to speak Chinese and has the mental age of a 5-year-old.
While local police failed to trace him, an appeal broadcast yesterday on the “1057 Everyone Help” show on radio station FM105.7 proved the catalyst for Lee being reunited with his family.
The request for help in finding Lee was heard by an official at a homeless shelter in Huangpu District, who earlier yesterday had taken charge of a young man fitting his description.
Lee had been transferred to Huangpu after being found in an Internet cafe on Wednesday by police in Chongming Island.
After spending the night in the police station, Lee was transferred to a shelter in Chongming, before being moved to a larger facility in Huangpu.
Ren Weizhong, who works at the Chongming shelter and traveled with Lee to Huangpu, told Shanghai Daily that at first, staff had no idea what to do with Lee as he seemed unable to tell them anything.
“He only began to talk after we arrived at the city shelter (in Huangpu). Then somebody realized that he was speaking Korean,” he said.
Shortly after, an official there heard the appeal and contacted the radio show.
Kim Jae Hyeok, deputy secretary-general of the Korean Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, who was involved in the search for Lee, said his family was delighted to hear their son had been found.
“We went to the shelter straight after getting the call from Ms Bai (host of the “1057 Everyone Help” show),” he said.
“We are very grateful to the city’s help. It shows that kindness and friendship transcend borders,” he said.
Lee is now back home with his parents, who declined to speak to Shanghai Daily, but said through Kim that they were very grateful for all the help they had received.
It is still not clear where Lee spent the time between disappearing on Sunday and being found on Wednesday.
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