Identified! TX - Midland, living Male, 13-17, can't communicate his name, found near Ward & Shandon, 30 Jan 2023 - Cordarius Lashun Pegues

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MIDLAND, Texas — The Midland Police Department is asking for help locating a young man's family.

He was found unattended near Ward Street and Shandon Avenue. He is not able to communicate what his name is or where he lives. He is also believed to be around 13-17 years old.

If you have any information that could help return him to his family, please call 432-685-7108.

Picture is in video

1675087015189.png
 

MIDLAND, Texas — The Midland Police Department is asking for help locating a young man's family.

He was found unattended near Ward Street and Shandon Avenue. He is not able to communicate what his name is or where he lives. He is also believed to be around 13-17 years old.

If you have any information that could help return him to his family, please call 432-685-7108.

Picture is in video

View attachment 398732
I'm guessing he's autistic and/or intellectually disabled. A lot of kids and adults wear helmets full time due to head banging/self-injurious behaviour. Social services and special ed locally should know this young man, unless he's been kept at home, isolated.
 

City of Midland - Public Information

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The Midland Police Department needs help locating this young man’s family. He is not able to communicate what his name is or where he lives. He was found unattended near Ward Street and Shandon Avenue. He is approximately 13-17 years old. Please call 432-685-7108 if you have any information that could help us return this young man to his family.

1675089241235.png
 
His clothes are quite dirty and his nails are quite long alongside his face being unclean -- it could be that due to autism or a similar disorder he doesn't like different clothes or having his nails cut, but it could also due to him being abandoned (or run away) and indications he's been alone for at least a little while. Obviously, I'm not calling anything or anyone out -- just looking at the photo and seeing some things that stick out.

What drew the police's attention to him in particular? I'm UK-based, so I don't know if where he's found it would be unusual for a younger person to be alone, or if it's a dangerous location and he looked out of place, or if it was because he does look unkempt.

(ETA: I can't access the original article, so I'm sorry if these questions regarding attention-drawing have already been answered!)
 
Regarding the helmet, my daughter had (still has) the exact same one when she turned three…it’s now too small for her 10 year old sister to wear. So I’d wonder why a 13-17 year old is wearing it, when it also appears to be far too small. I doubt this would protect the child’s forehead from the headbanging etc associated with kids with various disabilities/on the spectrum. He just doesn’t look cared for, IMO…nails appear grown out, just a general look of being unkempt. His eyes make me so sad. I hope he gets help, even if that means removing him from his current residence. Why has no one reported him missing? MOO
 
So I’d wonder why a 13-17 year old is wearing it, when it also appears to be far too small. I doubt this would protect the child’s forehead from the headbanging etc associated with kids with various disabilities/on the spectrum.
It's probably a comfort object for him. I doubt it was for preventing self-injury since it looks like it's in good shape.
 
One thing that is odd to me is that his helmet looks substantially cleaner than his clothing. The soiling on his clothes initially made me think he may have been living on the streets, but the helmet looks clean and undamaged. This could just mean that he only recently came across the helmet, but it could also mean that he's just been wearing the same clothes for several days or weeks and put the helmet on only once he decided to leave his home. He looks well nourished, not emaciated, so despite the condition of his clothing he looks like someone must have been caring for him (or that he is relatively independent in his ability to obtain and safely eat food). I would be concerned about the well being of his caregiver, as it is not uncommon for people with developmental disabilities to be cared for by single aging family members and if that caregiver becomes incapacitated there is not always someone around to help the child/adult. The area where he was found is densely residential, though, which I'd think would increase the probability of neighbors recognizing him if that were the case.

**Editing to add that since he also has a clean soccer ball in the photo, it just occured to me that the ball and helmet may not actually be items he was found with but rather things that LE keep in their vehicles for children in distress, like the Hug Patrol program.
 
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There are a lot of people commenting on social media that they believe this to be Adji Desir and that they've contacted his mother to put her in touch with police. AD went missing in 2009 and would likely be a similar age today. I personally do not think that this is AD, as AD definitely had down-slanting palpebral fissures and this person appears to have up-slanting palpebral fissures. Commenters are arguing that "features change with age", however, this specific trait would not. I do not think this difference is just due to camera angle. Adding this information here in case any other readers had similarly concluded that this is AD in an effort to encourage them to continue looking for other possibilities rather than believing that the case has been solved.
 
There are a lot of people commenting on social media that they believe this to be Adji Desir and that they've contacted his mother to put her in touch with police. AD went missing in 2009 and would likely be a similar age today. I personally do not think that this is AD, as AD definitely had down-slanting palpebral fissures and this person appears to have up-slanting palpebral fissures. Commenters are arguing that "features change with age", however, this specific trait would not. I do not think this difference is just due to camera angle. Adding this information here in case any other readers had similarly concluded that this is AD in an effort to encourage them to continue looking for other possibilities rather than believing that the case has been solved.
Adji Desir – The Charley Project

 
There are a lot of people commenting on social media that they believe this to be Adji Desir and that they've contacted his mother to put her in touch with police. AD went missing in 2009 and would likely be a similar age today. I personally do not think that this is AD, as AD definitely had down-slanting palpebral fissures and this person appears to have up-slanting palpebral fissures. Commenters are arguing that "features change with age", however, this specific trait would not. I do not think this difference is just due to camera angle. Adding this information here in case any other readers had similarly concluded that this is AD in an effort to encourage them to continue looking for other possibilities rather than believing that the case has been solved.
I can see why people are going there - the nose in particular is very similar - but you're right, the eyes look a different shape.
 
I’m glad they picked him up and he’s some place warm. It’s 24F in Midland right now and will be 21F tonight and he’s not dressed for it.
Yeah, even a group home or a ward for ID/DD folks is going to be better than a slow death from hypothermia.

Who are you, kiddo? You got folks looking for you? I bet you do. You're a bit grubby, but you're not skinny. Your skin looks healthy. But of a runny nose, but it's cold out. Where'd you come from?
 
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no other info available

edit: I checked charley project and he resembles Adji Desir but the age is a little older
Yeah I don't think that age estimates being off by a few years necessarily excludes someone, especially not for people who likely have a genetic condition (which does apply in many cases for nonspeaking people who are diagnosed with autism). Some people have genetic "syndromes" that impact onset of puberty, bone "age", and other aspects of growth that can affect age estimates and also result in being diagnosed with autism. I am still not convinced that this person is AD just because the palpebral angle does not look right to me, but an upper age range of 17 is still close enough for me that I wouldn't rule him out based on age alone.
 

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