A man who helped lead the search for Avonte Oquendo in 2013 has joined the hunt for a missing autistic man in Brooklyn, family members said Saturday.
Christopher Gewirtz announced on Facebook that the search for his missing brother Brian Gewirtz is now “being directed by someone who worked on the Avonte Oquendo case.”
The volunteer — who spent three months looking for Avonte — recommended volunteers focus their attention on city subway lines.
Volunteers handed out fliers at the Barclays Center station in downtown Brooklyn Saturday morning, Brian’s father, Steven Gewirtz, said. A few hours later they were told of a possible sighting of Brian in Dyker Heights, but by the time volunteers got there, the man who looked like Steven’s missing son had moved on.
Brian Gewirtz, who has a neurological disorder that makes it difficult for him to understand spoken language and is also diabetic, left his Marine Park home without his cell phone Feb. 17, family members said.
The remains of Avonte, an autistic 14-year-old who disappeared after leaving his Long Island City school, were found on a Queens beach three months after he disappeared.
Anyone with information regarding Gewirtz’s whereabouts is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.