A missing 19-year-old Bellevue resident was found safe in Renton early this morning following a region wide search by law enforcement and more than 50 volunteers.
The incident began at 8:15PM Friday evening when the parents of 19-year-old Zayb Bajwa flagged down Bellevue PD Officers and notified them their son had fled from his caregivers at around the 5400 block of Coal Creek Parkway. Zayb is an individual on the autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and being missing and out of care placed him in an extremely vulnerable situation. Zayb’s mother and caregiver confirmed that Zayb had no prior history of running off from his family.
Understanding the delicate circumstances with Zayb’s case, the BPD quickly dispatched a search perimeter along the area and began canvassing the trail and other surrounding neighborhoods. More than 50 volunteers also assisted Police in this effort. However, as the area quickly grew dark, Officers from multiple jurisdictions turned to unmanned aerial devices (UAS) during search and rescue efforts in an attempt to find Zayb’s body heat along the search perimeter. Reverse 9-1-1 was also initiated at this time.
The Department received help from King County Search and Rescue as well as other law enforcement agencies from the region – including the Clyde Hill Police Department, the Redmond Police Department, and the Renton Police Department.
At around 12:30AM on May 18, Renton PD Officers found Zayb safe and uninjured in Renton. He was then taken to Valley Medical Center for evaluation.
The Bellevue Police Department sends its gratitude to the volunteers in the search efforts as well as the neighboring agencies who ensured Zayb was found safe and reunited with his family.
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