Police Search For Missing Special Olympics Athlete
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Police on Sunday are asking for the public's help in searching for a missing Special Olympics athlete from Albania.
Andi Gusmari, a 44 year old bowler, was last seen at the USC Festival area at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
He is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 180 pounds. He was wearing a red shirt with "Albania" on the back, black pants with white stripes down each side and white athletic shoes. He has a speech impediment and does not speak English.
"...thinking that he was with some coaches, or whether he was was with his delegation lead,so there was some delay in them identifying that he was," LAPD Comd. Dennis Kato said.
LAPD expanded their search to the area around USC shortly after he was reported missing.
"That's currently going on right now, as we speak," Comd. Kato said. "We're still continuing that search off-campus."
Members of teams from other countries also touched on the missing athlete.
"We travel in little pods, so our coaches are responsible for four or five athletes," team Canada logistics coordinator Charity Sheehan said. "So they know where they are at all times."
Adding to the urgency of the search, the Albanian delegation was believed to have flown out of LAX at 4:15 p.m., said LAPD Commander Dennis Kato.
The LAPD is asking anyone with information on the athlete to call 1-877-ASK-LAPD.
