Crime & Safety

Missing Teen Reunited With Parents

Cleveland shelter employee recognized Michael Karwan from a Facebook post about his disappearance.

By Jacklyn Corley

One area family will have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Michael Karwan was reunited with his parents overnight after a weeklong, multi-state search for the 19-year-old, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office (MCPO).

Karwan, a Marlboro resident and Brookdale Community College student who has autism, traveled by bus from Monmouth County to Manhattan and from New York via Philadelphia and Pittsburgh before arriving in Cleveland, Ohio where he was found Tuesday evening. 

Karwan tried to check-in to an overcrowded men's shelter run by Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries (LMM) but was referred to the Volunteers of America (VoA) shelter, according to an MCPO press release. 

After Karwan had checked into the VoA shelter, an employee from the LMM men’s shelter saw a Facebook newsfeed item detailing the search for the missing Marlboro teen and recognized him.

The employee reported the teen's location to Marlboro police, who then the contacted the Cleveland Police Department. Officers arrived at the shelter where they confirmed Karwan was listed as a missing person, according to the release.

"With Michael Karwan safely reunited with his parents, we all have a little more to give thanks for this Thanksgiving holiday. I personally want to thank everyone who played a role in the search for Michael and his safe return, especially the news media that helped get the word out about Michael," Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Gramiccioni said in the statement. 

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Marlboro Police Department, and the FBI’s Red Bank Office were assisted by the Cleveland and New York City Police Departments, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, NJ Transit, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), FBI divisions in Cleveland, Newark, and New York City, and a host of volunteer organizations, according to the release.


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