Disabled West Park Man Missing Since Thursday
WEST PARK (CBSMiami) –Officials in Broward County are searching for a disabled man who was last seen Thursday.
A desperate family is asking everyone to help search for Junior Encarnacion,40, who walked away from his mother's house in West Park early Thursday.
He was last seen at 6:30 a.m. on February 13 at his home at 5400 S.W. 36 St., West Park.
Encarnacion is said to be completely deaf and unable to speak and suffers from hypertension.
"He's deaf. He can't hear. He can't talk. He's only been in the country for about 3 months he hasn't adapted well. It's a tough situation for him. He's 40-years old but he has the mentality of a 10-year old..completely harmless...you can definitely approach him," said his brother Josue Encarnacion.
Since he can't hear or speak, the Encarnacion family says the only way to really interact with Junior is through eye contact.
"He's alone. It's a lonely world when you're deaf. There's only so much he can do. My biggest fear is he's alone. I picture him sitting on the side somewhere, people just walking by him and crying in tears looking for help but not being able to voice his opinion," said Encarnacion.
The family's passing out fliers and putting out the word on social media after some tips came in that he may have been spotted near Pembroke Pines. The family began searching there.
Junior's family describes him as loving and kind. They worry he's spent the past two nights cold and hungry, and can't figure out how to get back to his family.
Encarnacion is 5' 8" tall and weighs 180 lbs. He has short dark hair, brown eyes and no tattoos.
He was last seen wearing dark jeans, a grey shirt and white Converse sneakers. He has no prior history of being missing.
"If I had $10,000, I'd tell someone, 'Yeah you got a reward,' but any blessings I can give your way is gonna be worth any amount of dollar, any figure you can put on it . Any help we can get right now, going toward 72 hours, we'll take it," said Encarnacion. "I don't want to go a third night with him out on the streets."
Anyone with information is asked to call (954) 321-4231 or report anonymous tips to Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477).