Autistic man missing in Manukau

Sunday, 31 March 2019

Police are appealing for any sightings of Gary Gao.

An autistic Chinese man from Manukau has gone missing.

Chunji Gao, known as Gary Gao, was in the news in 2010 when he went missing and was taken in by a Samoan family.

Now 25-years-old, Gao was reported missing on Monday March 25, but has not been seen by his family since May last year.

A police spokesperson said at this stage they have no further information on where he might be.

* 'Bob' wants to stay with his new Samoan family**

'Police are keen to hear from anyone who might know where he is. He was last known to reside in the Manukau area.'

As a 16-year-old in 2010 Gao was put on the police missing persons list.

After wandering away from his Botany home, he told a Samoan family his name was 'Bob' and lived happily with them in Otara for nearly three weeks as police combed the streets of south Auckland for him.

When it became apparent to his hosts that he was a missing person he was taken to police and reunited with his family.

The story of the hospitality of his host family struck a chord with the public and was covered extensively in national media.

If you can help, please call Police on (09) 571 2800, quoting Police file number 190325/3448.