Mentally Handicapped Man on Bike Gets Lost and Found
Posted on July 13, 2007
Filed Under Lost and Found News |
A mildly mentally handicapped man from California was visiting relatives in Waukegan, Illinois. What started out as a fun ride on the North Shore Bike Trail turned into a 26-hour lost and found ordeal. Hector Becerra, 33, of North Hollywood and his 8-year-old cousin left for a bike ride around 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 5. The younger cousin returned home after 15 minutes, but Hector was nowhere to be found.
So seven of Hector’s relatives immediately began dealing with the lost and found situation. They organized their own search party, and scoured the bike trail late into Thursday night. They filed a missing person report with the Waukegan Police Department late Friday afternoon. Unable to sleep, they continued their lost and found mission at 5 a.m. Friday in nearby towns.
Hector didn’t know his cousin’s phone number or address, so he tried to find the way back to the house visually. Hector speaks mostly Spanish and just a little bit of English, which added to his lost and found demise. He survived on Slushies and spent the night on a bench at a gas station. His lost and found ordeal ended 26 hours and 12 miles later in Bannockburn.
He asked a Bannockburn resident for some food and explained that he was lost. Touched by his lost and found plight, the resident gave him a bag filled with lunchmeat, bread and grapes–and promptly called the police. Bannockburn police Sgt. George Roberts found Hector pushing his bicycle down the road near the 2400 block of Telegraph Road. He called the Waukegan police department regarding the lost and found situation, and they informed him about the missing person report.
Shortly afterward, a Waukegan police officer informed Hector’s relatives that he had been found safe. Martha Gutierrez, Hector’s mother, reunited with him with at the Bannockburn police station. And yes, she shed tears of joy, happy that this lost and found situation had come to a close! She said she’ll always have a happy memory of Waukegan and all the kind, helpful people who helped find Hector.
As for Hector, he said that he’s going to keep riding his bike–but not so far!
Via http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com
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