Chicago Police Department
NBA player Victor Wembanyama says one of his friends has been missing for several days after he disappeared from Chicago O'Hare International Airport.
The man, Elijah Joseph Hoard, was last seen at the airport on Friday, February 27, according to a missing person's alert shared by the Chicago Police Department on Sunday, March 1.
Hoard, 23, "may be in need of medical attention," police said.
In an Instagram story shared on Monday, March 2, Wembanyama, a forward-center for the San Antonio Spurs, encouraged the public to contact authorities for any tips related to Hoard's whereabouts, ABC 7 Chicago.
"Our friend Elijah has been missing from Chicago O'Hare since February 27th," Wembanyama wrote in the Instagram post. "If you have any information, please reach out to local authorities."
Elijah's father, Antwon Hoard, told NBC 5 Chicago that his son had been visiting him in Chicago from France, where Elijah lives with his mother, before he went missing.
The day of his disappearance, Antwon said he had taken Elijah to Terminal 5 at the Chicago O'Hare International Airport, ahead of his return flight to France, the outlet reported.
"He was really happy to be here," Antwon told NBC 5 Chicago. "And the 10-day stay went like, fantastic, you know. I'm saying he had a little bit of blues, you know, at the end, not really [wanting] to go back, because he was sad and having such a good time here."
"I was able to just walk them through the doors at the airport, got them in front of the kiosk, you know, we gave each other a big hug or whatever, took a nice little selfie together, and I wished him well on this trip," Antwon added.
He told NBC 5 Chicago that his texts and calls to his son have gone unanswered.
Elijah did not check in for his flight to France, according to Hoard, ABC 7 Chicago reported.
"To my knowledge he was going to just register his ticket and get on the flight but for whatever reason he never took the flight, his bags weren't registered, and he never checked in, so what we're thinking is he could possibly be floating around the airport or something, but again, that's the last we've seen of him," Hoard told the outlet.
Elijah's mother said that her son has a medical condition and needs to take medication for it, according to NBC 5 Chicago.
Elijah was wearing a brown hoodie, black sweatpants and "cream-colored shoes" at the Chicago airport, police said.
The Chicago Police Department asks anyone who might have information on Elijah's location to contact police at (312) 747-8380 or 911.
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