By Kathy Chouteau
A missing man with special needs, later identified as Eleandri Palisoc, 20, was found wandering in-and-out of traffic in Pinole Thursday morning, according to a report by NBC Bay Area.
The young man, who is non-verbal and has autism, was fortunately discovered by Pinole residents and connected to police, who ultimately reunited him with his Fremont family in time for Thanksgiving.
“Passersby were worried he was going to get hit by a car and when they stopped to talk to them, all he could tell them was ‘mommy and burger,’ so they called us to assist,” Officer Alphoso Black with the Pinole Police Department told NBC Bay Area.
Black—who keeps stuffed animals and blankets in his police car—handed the young man a teddy bear and some breakfast as he attempted to figure out his identity.
Since he was unable to garner additional info from Palisoc, he posted his photo on social media and asked for help; according to NBC Bay Area, responses to his post arrived in short order.
It turns out that Fremont police had issued a nixle alert for Palisoc, who was last seen boarding a BART train in Fremont Wednesday night. In all, he had been missing more than 12 hours.
On Thanksgiving, Palisoc’s family picked him up at the Pinole police station, per the report.
