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6 Haitian Men Missing, Scheduled for Special Olympic USA Games

They were last seen Monday when the special games began.

Six Haitian men scheduled to compete in Orlandoโ€™s Special Olympic USA Games are missing, according to CBS News. Law enforcement is searching for them and put out a notice alerting the public of where they were last seen.

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Antione Joseph Mithon, Nicholson Fontilus, Peter Mianovich Berlus, Anderson Petit-Frere, Steevenson Jacquet and Oriol Jean were expected Monday when the event began. The Osceola County Sheriffโ€™s Officer published a notice saying they were last seen at around 2:30 p.m. that day at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

Per CBS, all six of them turned in their room keys and left their personal belongings behind. However, there are no current leads as to where they couldโ€™ve went.

More from CBS News:

โ€œHow you fly into a country and just disappear, and no one knows anything? I mean thatโ€™s disturbing,โ€ said Hope Watson, a mother of a Special Olympics athlete. โ€œMaybe they went to see family. Maybe itโ€™s something different, and they really arenโ€™t missing.โ€

Special Olympics said in a statement that โ€œfive of the men are not participating athletes and one has an intellectual disability.โ€

They go on to say, โ€œThe wellbeing of these delegates is our foremost concern,โ€ but adding โ€œauthorities say thereโ€™s no reason to believe the health and safety of any of the adults is at risk.โ€

Orlandoโ€™s community is home to about 40,000 Haitian people, according to Global City Mission Initiative. Following the earthquake in 2010 and the more recent assassination of former Haitian president Jovenel Moรฏse, more Haitians have begun migrating to the US but specifically, Florida.

The idea that the six Olympic competitors could be reconnecting with their community isnโ€™t completely far off. Though, the sheriffโ€™s office says they believe their disappearance is an isolated incident and asks the public for tips.

โ€œWe are in communication with Walt Disney World, Special Olympics and our Law Enforcement and Federal partners. At this time, we believe this is an isolated event and do not suspect foul play. We are asking anyone with information to please contact the Osceola County Sheriffโ€™s Office,โ€ they said via press release.

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