Missing Special Olympics chaperone Rezwanul Haque found safe, police say

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A 22-year-old Special Olympics chaperone from Bangladesh who was reported missing last week from Chicago has been found safe, Chicago police said Tuesday evening.

Police said that they made contact with and located Rezwanul Haque, who has left the city of Chicago willingly. Police said they have closed the missing person's case. Police said their detectives determined that while Haque has autism, he is high functioning in making decisions on his own.

Haque and other Special Olympians were in Chicago last week to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the games.

Anne Burke, one of the leading forces behind the Special Olympics since its beginning, said Haque is very high functioning and it appears he had a plan to stay.

"He's made contact with people on the North Side and he's been in Ohio. He's an adult there's no criminal conduct. The case is still open with the Chicago Police department but he does not want to be contacted," Burke said Tuesday.

Haque also took his money and ID with him.

"It is a little more of a relief for me, but anybody involved with Special Olympics, we are very concerned they are here in our country and we want to make sure everything is okay for them," Burke said.

Haque had traveled to Chicago with his soccer team and his disappearance sparked Chicago police to issue a High Risk Missing Person Alert.

Local Bangladeshi Americans and the Honorary Consul of Bangladesh were asked to help find Haque. They said he called a teammate Sunday morning to say he was at a mosque near the O'Hare and wanted to be picked up. But they couldn't find him.

"I went Sunday, almost four hours, place to place, to find this guy and I couldn't find him," said Monir Choudhury, Honorary Consul of Bangladesh, Chicago.

Local leaders in the Bangladeshi American community understand why the young man might want to stay in the U.S., but would like to hear from someone who has seen Haque or Haque himself. They want to make sure he is not being negatively influenced and that he is OK.

"We are trying to make sure he is safe, not involved with any criminal peoples. This is the most important thing," said Mohammad Shamsul Islam, of the Bangladesh Association of Greater Chicagoland.