SOUTH BEND – An autistic man who disappeared the day before Thanksgiving has been found alive and well in Fort Wayne.

Police in Fort Wayne discovered David Blackmon, 36, at one of the city’s homeless shelters late Sunday night.

Police there recognized him and contacted officers in South Bend, who arranged for Blackmon to be returned to his home.

Blackmon went missing just before 3 p.m. Wednesday, when he seemingly disappeared from his job at Partners in Opportunities, near the South Bend Regional Airport.

Concerns arose late Wednesday when Blackmon, who is also mildly retarded, hadn’t returned to his group home on the city’s south side.

By that time, however, Blackmon was apparently several miles south of South Bend.

According to police reports in South Bend, a caller reported seeing Blackmon at Jack’s Bar and Grill in Lakeville late Wednesday afternoon.

The call to police, however, came several days later after news of Blackmon’s disappearance was reported in the media.

That same night, a Marshall County police officer spotted Blackmon along U.S. 31, just north of LaPaz.

The officer said he offered to give Blackmon a ride back to South Bend, but that Blackmon refused and said he was headed to Fort Wayne.

On Thursday, another caller to South Bend police reported seeing Blackmon sitting in a cornfield along U.S. 30 near the town of Etna Green, about 40 miles southeast of South Bend.

Blackmon, however, wasn’t found until police caught up with him about 9:45 p.m. Sunday in Fort Wayne.

Kadir Cizreliogullari, services administrator for Partners in Opportunities, said Blackmon appeared to be in good physical health, although he refused to answer many questions about his disappearance.

Cizreliogullari said Blackmon didn’t say why he wanted to go to Fort Wayne, but did say that he wanted to live independently and not in a group home.

"He has that right," Cizreliogullari said. "So that’s what we’re going to try to help him do."

Cizreliogullari said he wanted to express his gratitude to the people who were concerned for Blackmon, and said he and his co-workers are happy about the outcome.

"He’s safe," Cizreliogullari said, "and he’s doing well."

Staff writer Dave Stephens:
dstephens@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6209