An Albanian athlete competing in the Special Olympics World Games has been missing for more than 12 hours, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Andi Gusmari, 44, was last seen Saturday night near the University of Southern California campus, in the Exposition Park neighborhood of South Los Angeles.
He was wearing a red Special Olympics Albania shirt, the LAPD tweeted Sunday morning.
Gusmari has a speech impediment and does not speak English but will respond to his first name, according to police. He is 5 feet, 6 inches tall, weighs 190 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes.
During a press conference that was carried on Periscope Sunday, police said they had “elevated” the search for the missing bowler.
“We consider him right now to be a critical missing, only because of the time of night that he went missing,” Commander Dennis Kato said.
In addition to the red jersey, Gusmari was dressed in black track pants with white stripes down the side and tennis shoes.
Kato said police had searched the entire USC campus with assistance from the USC Department of Public Safety but were unable to locate Gusmari.
Authorities were particularly concerned because the Albanian delegation’s flight home was set to depart Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday at 4:15 p.m., and they want to make sure Gusmari returns home safely.
The Special Olympics World Games Los Angeles 2015 ran from July 25 through Aug. 2.
#LAPD: #Missing 44 YO Andi Gusmari last seen wearing a red #SpecialOlympics Albania shirt. Info? Call 1-877-ASK-LAPD. pic.twitter.com/Ga6JO04Fyg
— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) August 2, 2015