Police in Chicago say a 19-year old who never made it on his flight home and disappeared from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport may not have wanted to go home, reports the New York Daily News.
“The young man was apparently having some problems in school. We have some leads on where he may be. It appears that he may or may not have wanted to go home, ” said Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy. He does not suspect a crime is involved.
However his parents say Hye Min Choi is not the type of person who would just disappear and not phone.
“He doesn’t have the character of someone who would decide not to get on the flight and not contact his family,” his sister Catherine Choi said.
Choi’s disappearance is occurring just weeks after three other Asian American students who went missing were all ruled suicides.
The Huffington Post reports suicide is the second leading cause of death among children ages 15-34.
“Family conflicts and academic failure loom large,” reported journalist Katherine Kam, “but some have a family history of depression, which might make them genetically vulnerable.”
You can read a lot more about mental health, suicide and Asian Americans in the Huffington Post.
You can trace Hye Min Choi whereabouts in the New York Daily News.
