Missing Colombia Man Found Wandering in Florida a Month After Vanishing From Miami Airport
A 23-year-old man from Colombia was found in a Florida Park a month after he vanished from Miami International Airport.
Miguel Angel Roldan was found on Tuesday by a couple who recognized the Colombia man from the photos shared on the news.
Felicia Bautista and her husband spotted Roldan while they were on their way to a church in Hollywood, Florida. The couple reportedly stopped to talk to the man from Colombia while they waited for the police to arrive.
Authorities took Roldan to Memorial Regional Hospital, where he was treated for dehydration. Roldan's mother, Alejandra Córdoba, rushed to be at his side after police alerted her.
Authorities said the man from Colombia might have spent several days walking from downtown Miami to reach Hollywood. At one point, Roldan reportedly spent eight days outside a restaurant in Miami begging for food.
Roldan and her mother were expected to return to their home in Medellin in Colombia in the coming days.
Colombia Man Vanished in Miami Airport
Miguel Angel Roldan's journey started when American Airlines refused to allow him on a flight home because he did not have proof of a negative COVID test.
NBC Miami reported that the man traveled to the U.S. to receive his COVID vaccine and visited a friend from Los Angeles, California.
Roldan suddenly vanished when he was on his way back home trying to catch a connecting flight from Miami. The young man was reportedly turned away at the gate for not having a negative COVID test.
Public Information Officer from the Miami-Dade police, Alvaro Zabaleta, said Roldan went "directly from the front of the gate to door 2, that exits the airport."
Reports also revealed that Roldan lost all his valuables four days before leaving California, except his passport and $40 cash.
Meanwhile, Roldan's mother said it took nearly a week before American Airlines responded to her inquiry about his missing son. A local group that helps Colombian in the U.S. called "Zone 33" helped in finding the 23-year-old man. The group's spokesman Mauricio Arcilla said they filed a report on the family's behalf, and they went to morgues and hospitals, but no one matched with Roldan's description.
Between August 5 and 8, Zone 33 Director Beatriz Sierra noted that Roldan went to a hospital due to foot pain, but he left.
Airport Travel Guidance
On January 26, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) imposed that traveling internationally would require an individual to take a viral test not more than three days before the flight.
Travelers are also required to show documentation that would certify negative test results or proof of recovery from COVID-19.
CDC said that international travel poses additional risks, and even fully vaccinated travelers are at increased risk for getting and possibly spreading new COVID-19 variants.
This article is owned by Latin Post
Written By: Joshua Summers
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