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

[Dre]

I feel like more and more people are unable to take care of themselves (mentally), so taking care of others goes quickly out of the window. I feel like I see lots of cheese sliding off lots of crackers in the last couple years and there will be people that fall through the cracks like this poor guy. I have hope he will find a nice stable place to live, but it's heartbreaking that no one is coming forward. taking a second to count my blessings again.
Moo

 

[Tower]

I feel like more and more people are unable to take care of themselves (mentally), so taking care of others goes quickly out of the window. I feel like I see lots of cheese sliding off lots of crackers in the last couple years and there will be people that fall through the cracks like this poor guy. I have hope he will find a nice stable place to live, but it's heartbreaking that no one is coming forward. taking a second to count my blessings again.
Moo

RBBM.

Wow, this might be the best analogy I’ve ever read. I’ve never heard it before! Many of us can relate. I hope his family is okay and “Cordarius” is happy and healthy, with or without them.

 

[rightsaidfred]

I'm not in the US, but in the UK which also has a lot of immigration from the Caribbean due to a mix of colonialism and labour policies (Windrush generation etc).

It's not uncommon for people of Caribbean descent to spend part of their lives here and then retire to the Caribbean, and indeed some will make the move back and forth more than once. Many also maintain ties to their extended families in both countries. The result is a fairly complex web of family and cultural ties between both countries. I presume the same happens with Caribbean-American families.

I'm not sure the possible name of Cordarius rules out him being from abroad. He could have been named after his American uncle Cordarius, been raised in a Caribbean country by dual nationals and have American citizenship by descent, have been sent to the US to live with extended family with presumed better access to services, they rapidly realise they can't cope and abandon him or some equally complex international story.

In summary, the name Cordarius does feel American but it's not watertight proof that this boy has lived his whole life in the US.

 

[subaw0067]

I'm not in the US, but in the UK which also has a lot of immigration from the Caribbean due to a mix of colonialism and labour policies (Windrush generation etc).

It's not uncommon for people of Caribbean descent to spend part of their lives here and then retire to the Caribbean, and indeed some will make the move back and forth more than once. Many also maintain ties to their extended families in both countries. The result is a fairly complex web of family and cultural ties between both countries. I presume the same happens with Caribbean-American families.

I'm not sure the possible name of Cordarius rules out him being from abroad. He could have been named after his American uncle Cordarius, been raised in a Caribbean country by dual nationals and have American citizenship by descent, have been sent to the US to live with extended family with presumed better access to services, they rapidly realise they can't cope and abandon him or some equally complex international story.

In summary, the name Cordarius does feel American but it's not watertight proof that this boy has lived his whole life in the US.

Theres also no evidence to indicate that he *didn't* spend his life in the US. I think Occams razor is our friend here. He is likely from the area where he is found. Nobody has come forward recognizing him because his case hasn't gotten sufficient media attention, IMO.

 

[SoBu]

I feel like more and more people are unable to take care of themselves (mentally), so taking care of others goes quickly out of the window. I feel like I see lots of cheese sliding off lots of crackers in the last couple years and there will be people that fall through the cracks like this poor guy. I have hope he will find a nice stable place to live, but it's heartbreaking that no one is coming forward. taking a second to count my blessings again.
Moo

Yes!! Sadly, the systems in place to support families of those with intellectual disability is spread so thin that they’re really failing. Not enough money or people to do the work and it falls on families. After this long, it seems more and more likely the family is literally or emotionally unable to care for him. I am thankful to have more resources than most as a parent of a nonverbal son with autism but fear there is no plan for when my husband and I die, which is obviously eventually inevitable.

 

[Friday Fan]

Too bad his case hasn't been given nation-wide attention. Maybe some recall that little blonde girl found in Greece a few years ago who couldn't explain who she was; her case made it to CNN. Sigh. But I do think LE is trying their best for Cordarius.

My current theory is that his family are somewhat recent immigrants to the U.S.

That's entirely possible.
They literally could have lost him and are afraid to speak up

At first I thought he was local because Midland is in the middle of nowhere.
Then I remembered that there are Caribbean immigrants making their way over here via Texas. (Primarily Haitians)

 

[Stunned]

That's entirely possible.
They literally could have lost him and are afraid to speak up

At first I thought he was local because Midland is in the middle of nowhere.
Then I remembered that there are Caribbean immigrants making their way over here via Texas. (Primarily Haitians)

Haiti has been exactly where my mind has gone. But maybe it’s because I think Adjis parents were Haitian. Were they? I know it’s not him, but that might be the connection I’m still trying to force!

 

[Auntie Cipation]

I hope they are playing audio recordings of people speaking in different languages/dialects to see if he responds to any with recognition.

And also maybe playing various tv shows or video games to look for familiarity in the boy's response -- I'm thinking that might help narrow down his age somewhat.

MOO

 

[CSIDreamer]

What if he IS from Haiti? I realize the chances are probably nil to none but based on his guesstimated age, he would have been age 0-4 at the time of that awful 2010 earthquake. Brought home with an aid worker? Illegal adoption? Just talking out loud.

 

[Stunned]

What if he IS from Haiti? I realize the chances are probably nil to none but based on his guesstimated age, he would have been age 0-4 at the time of that awful 2010 earthquake. Brought home with an aid worker? Illegal adoption? Just talking out loud.

Wow, so many Aide workers poured into that country doing all kinds of rescues!

 

[Beth11311]

Still no ID in this little guy. I keep checking to see how he is doing..

 

[Friday Fan]

Dbm duplicate

 

[Friday Fan]

What if he IS from Haiti? I realize the chances are probably nil to none but based on his guesstimated age, he would have been age 0-4 at the time of that awful 2010 earthquake. Brought home with an aid worker? Illegal adoption? Just talking out loud.

Families are cuurently coming over from Haiti via Mexico into Texas and seeking asylum. Once they have been processed by ICE and DHS, they are free to travel while awaiting their hearings. In some cases, they have bypassed ICE and then they would not be here legally. Even if they are legally, losing a child could be embarrassing or the family may not know what to do or be afraid they would denied asylum

Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans | USCIS

ALERT: Starting Jan. 6, 2023, you must submit

www.uscis.gov

 

[Laughing]

That's entirely possible.
They literally could have lost him and are afraid to speak up

At first I thought he was local because Midland is in the middle of nowhere.
Then I remembered that there are Caribbean immigrants making their way over here via Texas. (Primarily Haitians)

and Midland is on Interstate 20, connecting Dallas/Fort Worth and El Paso.

In Dallas, I-35 heads north; near El Paso I-20 becomes I-10 & then crosses Arizona to California; at El Paso, I-25 heads north through New Mexico & Colorado.

Oklahoma City is a day's drive by interstate and the list goes on.

This guy could seriously be from anywhere.

 

[WingsOverTX]

That's entirely possible.
They literally could have lost him and are afraid to speak up

At first I thought he was local because Midland is in the middle of nowhere.
Then I remembered that there are Caribbean immigrants making their way over here via Texas. (Primarily Haitians)

RBBM
Excellent clue! I wonder what the best way to try to make a connection with new immigrants coming into the U.S. from Mexico is. It wouldn't surprise me if that is the answer. The numbers coming thru Texas are huge. And many kinds of transportation are used to connection them with family already settled around the country.
JMO

 

[WingsOverTX]

and Midland is on Interstate 20, connecting Dallas/Fort Worth and El Paso.

In Dallas, I-35 heads north; near El Paso I-20 becomes I-10 & then crosses Arizona to California; at El Paso, I-25 heads north through New Mexico & Colorado.

Oklahoma City is a day's drive by interstate and the list goes on.

This guy could seriously be from anywhere.

El Paso being the most recent city overwhelmed with immigrants of many nationalities coming across the border.

But you are right, finding who he was with if this was his situation would be challenging.

 

[ClaireNC]

Haiti has been exactly where my mind has gone. But maybe it’s because I think Adjis parents were Haitian. Were they? I know it’s not him, but that might be the connection I’m still trying to force!

I think a lot of people are trying to force the connection to Haiti due to the resemblance to Adji. There has been no info released that indicates a connection to anywhere other than the US. (Such as, the name Cordarius is predominantly an American name). If they suspected he was from outside the US, wouldn’t they have mentioned it in the press releases/briefings?

A couple of unanswered questions that could help narrow down where he came from: What was the brand names of the clothes he was wearing? Are they standard American brands? And does he appear to understand English? What prompted him to write the name Cordarius? Did they ask him ‘what’s your name?’ in English and he responded by writing the name?

 

[Friday Fan]

I think a lot of people are trying to force the connection to Haiti due to the resemblance to Adji. There has been no info released that indicates a connection to anywhere other than the US. (Such as, the name Cordarius is predominantly an American name). If they suspected he was from outside the US, wouldn’t they have mentioned it in the press releases/briefings?

A couple of unanswered questions that could help narrow down where he came from: What was the brand names of the clothes he was wearing? Are they standard American brands? And does he appear to understand English? What prompted him to write the name Cordarius? Did they ask him ‘what’s your name?’ in English and he responded by writing the name?

Yeah, the English threw me off. Most immigrants coming from the southern border are wearing American clothes.
It's just that it's Midland and how on earth did he get there? Seriously.. I don't think he was with a local caregiver because they would have figured it out by now.

Haitians are coming through El Paso and Del Rio in record numbers right now. Midland is about 100 miles from El Paso and 400 miles from Del Rio. After being processed, families take buses to other destinations throughout the country. It would be easy for someone to wander off at one of the bus stops.

DNA should be able to tell

 

[RememberingRyan]

I think a lot of people are trying to force the connection to Haiti due to the resemblance to Adji. There has been no info released that indicates a connection to anywhere other than the US. (Such as, the name Cordarius is predominantly an American name). If they suspected he was from outside the US, wouldn’t they have mentioned it in the press releases/briefings?

A couple of unanswered questions that could help narrow down where he came from: What was the brand names of the clothes he was wearing? Are they standard American brands? And does he appear to understand English? What prompted him to write the name Cordarius? Did they ask him ‘what’s your name?’ in English and he responded by writing the name?

All of this. If his prompt to write his name was spoken to him in any language besides English, that is something that would have been very publicly and clearly released by now - the language he understands is not protected private medical information, they would have had no reason to withhold details about whether he responded to Creole or Spanish or any other spoken language, and if it had been something other than English that would have been pertinent to identifying him.

If anyone would like to assist me, my goal this week is to try to contact admins from social media groups related to keywords "autism", "autistic", "nonverbal", "nonspeaking", "special needs", "Angelman", and "Phelan McDermid" (these last two are syndromic genetic conditions that frequently result in an absence of speech and in being diagnosed with autism which also have phenotypical facial features that I think could be consistent with Cordarius' features).

My hope is that if we can get enough social media groups across the country - but especially in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma - to share his face and his story, there is a chance that someone could recognize him just from old posts his caregiver could have made about him, at some point.

 

[CSIDreamer]

All of this. If his prompt to write his name was spoken to him in any language besides English, that is something that would have been very publicly and clearly released by now - the language he understands is not protected private medical information, they would have had no reason to withhold details about whether he responded to Creole or Spanish or any other spoken language, and if it had been something other than English that would have been pertinent to identifying him.

If anyone would like to assist me, my goal this week is to try to contact admins from social media groups related to keywords "autism", "autistic", "nonverbal", "nonspeaking", "special needs", "Angelman", and "Phelan McDermid" (these last two are syndromic genetic conditions that frequently result in an absence of speech and in being diagnosed with autism which also have phenotypical facial features that I think could be consistent with Cordarius' features).

My hope is that if we can get enough social media groups across the country - but especially in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma - to share his face and his story, there is a chance that someone could recognize him just from old posts his caregiver could have made about him, at some point.

Speaking of facial features. Is there a slight cleft in his lower lip?