This made my day: Netizens help find missing teen with Down syndrome who wandered from Tampines to Yishun

Maybe the internet can do good after all.

When Yasmin Zaini's teenage brother with Down syndrome, Khidir, went missing on Sunday (June 26) after he headed out of their Tampines home to get a bottle of Pokka peach tea, she and the family went on social media seeking help.

The family panicked after spending a few hours searching for Khidir who didn't return home after running his errand.

They even made a police report and was hoping that the online community could be of help in their time of need.

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Yasmin told AsiaOne that Khidir had been lost "a handful of times" before but they always found him "thanks to his location sharing on his phone".

That was not an option this time around as his handphone ran out of battery.

In the caption, the 27-year-old freelance copywriter mentioned that her brother was non-verbal but responds to his name.

"Last detected location was at Tampines Central," she wrote.

The family took no chances and Yasmin tweeted a similar plea while her brother-in-law based in the UK also put up a Reddit thread to help in the search.

Netizens who found out about their plight not only sent them well wishes but also said that they'll keep a lookout for Khidir too.

Some even went out of their way to help look for her brother. 

"People were quick to help, both online and offline," Yasmin told AsiaOne. "We had people on Reddit telling us they've gone out after dark to look for him in potential places, literally mobilised themselves."

She updated on social media that Khidir was spotted at Khatib area by a netizen before her parents finally found him walking in complete darkness at Yishun Bus Interchange at about 1am.

This teenager had been lost and wandering around for about 11 hours, and if he had walked from his home in Tampines to Yishun Bus Interchange some 19km away, it would have taken him about four hours. 

Yasmin said she is still asking her brother if he had taken a bus from Tampines to Yishun. 

The support online continued as netizens breathed a sigh of relief when the family announced Khidir was located.

"Public alertness & responsiveness was what helped us in the end. We received multiple helpful calls throughout our search that eventually lead us from Tampines to Yishun," Yasmin told AsiaOne.

She added that if ever a member of the public "sees someone like Khidir alone in public" to immediately contact the authorities.

In a previous news report, the Autism Recovery Network (Singapore) said that persons with special needs should be provided with forms of identification including basic information about the individual and contact details of their caregivers.

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amierul@asiaone.com