Father seeks help to find missing son
HE DISAPPEARED AFTER FAMILY TOOK HIM TO WATCH NEW YEAR’S EVE FIREWORKS
Adesperate Pakistani father searching for his mentally challenged son who went missing on New Year’s Eve has appealed to Dubai residents to help find him. The son, Adeel Afzal, 30, has been diagnosed a schizophrenic and is afraid of crowds and strangers, his father said.
The family had taken him out to watch the fireworks and after a brief stop for a washroom break, Adeel disappeared and has not been found despite a search by police patrols.
Adeel was wearing black jeans and a white and black striped long- sleeve shirt. He is 1.8 metres tall, weighs 65 kilograms and the colour of his eyes and hair is black, his father said.
Afzal Haq, the father, said he and his family members have put up “lost” posters at the hypermarket near where he went missing. This was the first time Adeel had gone out of his home in a long time. After the washroom break at Mamzar, he came out and sat on the sidewalk. When Afzal turned his car to pick him, Adeel had disappeared.
Schizophrenics act very er- ratically, Dr Shaju George, specialist psychiatrist at International Modern Hospital, said. “If he is delusional, he will tend to hide,” he said.
That could be why the police have not been able to find him six days after a missing person report was filed at Muraqqabat Police Station in Deira.
The doctor said even if the patient is schizophrenic, he would ask for help from people, if he is intelligent. He said there is no fear that he could have killed himself. If Adeel is hallucinating, he could be wandering the streets as voices in his head would be telling him to go someplace, the doctor said.
Haq said his son is not aware of his surroundings.