The family of a Maryland man who has Down syndrome is desperate to find him after he walked out of a Montgomery County hotel on Friday, boarded a Metrobus and has not been seen since.
Rashawn Williams is nonverbal, requires constant supervision and cannot live on his own. He left a Residence Inn on Plum Orchard Drive in Silver Spring about 6:20 p.m. Friday.
Williams and others have been staying with caregivers at the hotel since a fire seriously damaged their group home in Rockville.
On Friday evening, Williams was eating dinner when he asked to go to the bathroom. But surveillance video shows Williams walking out of the Residence Inn alone. The time stamp on that image was 6:21 p.m.
Outside, Williams boarded a Metrobus on the R2 route from a bus stop in front of the hotel, which is located north of the Capital Beltway, in the White Oak area.
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He has not been seen since.
'He has Down syndrome. He's nonverbal': Family of Rashawn Williams is desperate to find him
Williams' family is frantic with worry. His father spoke through tears Monday as he detailed their search efforts.
"We've been canvassing Montgomery County, the entire R2 bus line in all three counties; we've been doing that since Friday, from five in the morning to three or four o'clock in the morning, looking for my son," Williams' father Jimmy Hall said, pausing as he sobbed and hugged other loved ones. "I don't know if someone has him, or — because he has Down syndrome. He's nonverbal; he don't have any ID, or any identification, no cellphone."
The family is hoping that someone will recognize Williams from photos and contact police.
They're also hopeful that there might have been surveillance cameras aboard the bus Williams rode so they can learn where he got off. The family spoke to Montgomery County police Monday, but they said Metro has not released the surveillance video they are hoping to see.
"It's like my son isn't important. Imagine he was a senator's son… or government. They'd have a helicopter. They'd have found him that night," Hall said. "I know he got on the bus. But we don't know where he got off, because we don't have any footage to see."
Since it's unclear where Williams disembarked, he could have done so outside of Montgomery County. The R2 bus route winds through three jurisdictions. Eastern Montgomery County is at the north end of the line. The route then travels through Prince George's County and into Northeast D.C., terminating at the Fort Totten Metrorail station. That station serves the rail system's Green and Red lines.
Rashawn Williams is 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds, police said. He has short black hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a blue long-sleeved shirt, blue jeans and black shoes.
Anyone with information is asked to call Montgomery County police at 301-279-8000.
