Authorities in Summit County, Utah, have heard of a young man wandering the area in a shopping cart for several weeks.
When they met him last Saturday, they found him missing almost three years ago in Northern California, more than 1,100 kilometers away.
The sheriff’s deputies responded to a gas station on the morning of April 9 in the Park City area after a “concerned community member” said he saw the man sleeping there, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook. The area is about a 40-minute drive from Salt Lake City.
Deputies suggested the man sit in one of their vehicles to keep warm and began investigating who he was, the sheriff’s office said. “Through past interactions and Saturday interactions, it was clear to lawmakers that the man was communicating differently,” the sheriff’s office said, and also included a hashtag about autism awareness in their Facebook post.
A dispatcher began browsing pages on the website of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and more than a dozen pages came across a missing poster about Connerjack Oswalt.
Oswalt, now 19, has been reported missing in September 2019 from Clearlake, California, northwest of Sacramento and about 11.5 hours from Summit County.
Authorities believe this is the same person they found trembling at the gas station.
“Deputies began making phone calls and were able to contact Connorjack’s mother,” Summit County Sheriff’s Lt. Andrew Wright told CNN in an email.
His mother told authorities that Oswalt had a distinctive birthmark on his neck. Deputies found the scar on Oswalt, Wright said.
Although authorities had previous interactions with Oswalt before that day, he did not share who he was and police “have no reason to request his information because he is not breaking the law,” Wright said.
Oswalt’s stepfather and grandfather went to Park City, Utah to identify him personally and reunite, Wright told CNN.
In one of the two video footage sent to CNN from the sheriff’s office, Oswalt’s stepfather was seen shouting in disbelief as police showed him a photo of Oswalt to confirm it was the same man. Wright told CNN that Oswalt had a previous arrest warrant.
– Is it him? Oswalt’s mother can be heard on the phone, which was on the speaker.
“A little older, but yes,” said Oswalt’s stepfather.
“My darling is alive,” the mother is heard saying as she sobs on the phone. “Can you go get it, please?”
Oswalt’s mother and stepfather moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho, after he disappeared, authorities said.
Oswalt is still receiving care and resources and has not yet gone to Idaho, Wright said.
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