MIDLAND, Texas — The Midland Police Department is searching for the family of a special needs teenager who was found wandering alone last month.
Police said the boy was found walking in an alley by himself in a neighborhood near Midland College on Jan. 29. According to police, he is non-verbal and believed to be between the ages of 13 and 17 years old.
While the teen hasn't been identified, police said they believe his name is "Cordarius" because he's written it several times when prompted by investigators. Unfortunately, no results matching his description or name have come up in any missing persons' databases.
"He is a special needs child who has been left out on his own, roaming the streets and we don't know how long he has been out there for," Jennie Alonzo with Midland police said. "Because he is non-verbal, he can't communicate with us, he can't tell us what he's feeling, where he is from, where he came from, who he was living with last. So we actually have no idea where he is from."
Police said they've taken DNA and fingerprints to properly identify the teen, but that it's unclear when they'll get those results. Currently, the teen is in custody with the state and will remain there if his family can't be found.
Questions surrounding the missing teen have social media users creating their own theories that he's the nonverbal autistic boy from Florida who went missing 14 years ago. Detectives have dismissed the theory, but are conducting the DNA test out of precaution.
If the family is found, police said they could face criminal charges for endangering a child.