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Albany Man With Special Needs Found Safe In WeHo

UPDATE 1/20/2019: The stepmother of Dewayne Williams says he has been located in West Hollywood and is safe.

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) --  The mother and family of a missing Albany man is in Los Angeles Saturday -- the last place Dewayne Williams was seen.

The 22-year-old Williams has special needs and on the autism spectrum, his family said.

Williams apparently wandered off from an institution in Albany, got on a Greyhound bus, and ended up near Skid Row in Downtown Los Angeles.

The family is asking for the public's help and to be on the lookout for Williams whom they say has the mental capacity of a 14-year-old.

KCAL9's Jeff Nguyen spoke to the distraught family Saturday evening.

The Williams' filed a missing person's report.

Tekeya Gibson says she's on a race against time.

"I'm just trying to keep the faith," says Williams' mother. "that yes, I'm going to find him."

"He has schizophrenia and he also has cognitive delays, as well. He's on the autistic spectrum, as well," Gibson says.

The staff at his treatment center in Albany said he failed to return after curfew last Friday.

Williams' family did some detective work and figured he may have come to California -- he talked a lot about coming to Los Angeles.

Their suspicions were confirmed when they arrived on Wednesday and found video of him getting off the bus here.

"This image means he made it here alive," says his mother, "That's the number one thing, so I'm in the right place looking for him."

The family posted flyers with his picture at today's Women's March.

Williams needs medication -- administered by a medical professional -- every two weeks and his family says the day he needs his medicine is fast approaching.

"He is on medication," says his step mom, Jasmine Pinn. "It will wear off on the 23rd and we're not sure what his mind frame might be like."

When last seen, Williams was wearing a Tommy Hilfiger coat, gray sweat shirt, hoodie and a white button-down shirt. His family said he was also wearing blue jeans and black sneakers.

His mother didn't come all this way to return without her boy.

"I have to find him," she says, "I cannot leave him here. That's not an option."

If you have seen Williams or know of his whereabouts, you're asked to not touch him and to call 911 immediately.

 

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