Kent Police find missing 20-year-old student

Kent Police have found a 20-year-old student with Kent's Transition Outreach Program who went missing at about 1:15 p.m. Monday during a Kent School District field trip to the Kent Food Bank, 515 W. Harrison St.

Police found the student unharmed at about 5 p.m. Monday near the Interurban Trail, just south of South 228th Street and north of the ShoWare Center after he was spotted by a railroad inspector, according to police scanner reports.

"He's in good shape, he's not injured," Kent Police Lt. Pat Lowery said in a phone interview. "We're very, very grateful it ended this way and this early."

Lowery said the student will be reunited with his mother at a command post set up by police at the food bank.

William “BJ” Lushenko was visiting the food bank with his class, teacher, and instructional assistants, according to a school district media release.

Police and relatives were notified and an intense search started for Lushenko. The student has a life-threatening seizure condition and is cognitively impaired.

The Transition Outreach Program is for students with special needs that teaches them life and social skills to help them live more independently as adults. The student was part of a class field trip to the Kent Food Bank on West Harrison Street in downtown Kent.

Kent Police worked with family, employees from the Kent School District and Kent Fire Department to locate the man, according to an email from Pat Lowery, Kent Police spokesman.

Lushenko is described as having the mental capacity of a young child and may not respond to verbal calls or commands.

 

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