Search on for missing Queens teenager Chad May, who has autism and is non-verbal
Editor's note: Chad May was found in good condition in Manhattan on April 3, 2024. Below is our original report about him going missing from April 2.
NEW YORK -- A search continues in Queens for a missing teenager with autism.
The last time 18-year-old Chad May was seen was in his Laurelton back yard on Monday, when he grabbed his bicycle to go out for a ride.
"He has his regular routine where he rides up and down the block," neighbor Shanice Sterling said.
That was just after 5 p.m. The teen's home health aide made sure he got out OK, but by 6 p.m. she realized something was wrong. The non-verbal teenager with autism was nowhere to be seen.
"It's unusual and it's very scary because no matter what he's gonna come home. He's gonna be hungry. He needs to use the restroom. It's not like he's gonna run away. That's not him at all," said Shenelle Williams, the missing teen's sister.
A neighborhood search started for Chad and his white and black Huffy incline men's mountain bike.
Community members helped, patrolling on foot and by car before making their way to the nearby police station to report the missing boy. His family said officers used K-9s and drones to search for Chad, but to no avail. They're now going into the second night without him home.
"I've been looking for him ever since. I didn't sleep all night, didn't eat nothing," mother Muriel Williams said.
"We're extremely worried because we don't know if he ate, if he at least got to use the bathroom. We don't know anything," Shenelle Williams said. "We miss him. We love him. Everyone is looking for him and we just need him to come home."
Chad is 5-foot-5 and 130 pounds.
The teen does not take the train nor any sort of public transportation, and is used to having someone with him at all times.
Although he is non-verbal, his family said he responds to his name.
