Nepali New Yorker Rajendra Gautam recently rescued an elderly man who had gone missing in New York City. Gautam found the man, who was missing from Pinegrove Street in Jamaica, Queens, near his own home in South Richmond Hills, Queens.
Gautam helped a 70-year-old grandfather from Bangladesh find his way back home. By communicating with the old man in Bengali, Gautam facilitated the rescue. The grandfather had written his family’s contact information on a piece of paper, which ultimately led to his safe return.
Reflecting on this incident, Gautam emphasized the importance of preparedness for non-English speaking parents. He suggested that parents always carry a card with their home address and phone number on it whenever they go out.
“This way, if parents get lost or go missing in New York City, they can easily show this information to the police or any helpful person, facilitating a quicker reunion,” said Gautam. Additionally, Gautam recommends that children provide their parents with a similar card containing the home address, parents’ names, and phone number.
The occasional disappearance of elderly parents from immigrant families in New York is not a new phenomenon. Incidents of Nepali parents going missing in New York City occur from time to time.
Recently, Nepali parents living in South Richmond Hill, New York City, lost their way and got lost. Those Nepali parents were found in the Gurdwara after an extensive search by the Nepali community living in the area.