NEED TO KNOW
- A man, who hadn’t been seen or heard from for more than a month, was found dead inside his car in Los Angeles
- Rwechungula Anyabwile, 63, was last seen on May 22, and he last communicated with his family over text on June 22
- He was found dead inside his car on July 18 in the L.A. neighborhood of Westchester
A man, who hadn’t been seen or heard from for more than a month, was found dead inside his car in Los Angeles.
According to a press release from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), 63-year-old Rwechungula Anyabwile was last seen on May 22.
Police said Anyabwile was found dead in his car — a black Hyundai Sonata — on Friday, July 18, at 1:40 p.m. local time in L.A.’s Westchester neighborhood. Authorities have not shared his cause of death, but said that his family has been notified.
The LAPD’s Missing Persons Unit first announced that Anyabwile’s loved ones were searching for him on July 14, and officials said at the time that he had last communicated with friends and family via text in a group chat on June 22.
Anyabwile’s family said at the time that he had no known medical conditions and had never been missing before.
Speaking with local outlet The Argonaut, Anyabwile’s family shared that he was last seen at an LA Fitness gym along Lincoln Boulevard in Playa Vista, a place he frequented.
His family also said they were concerned he had been injured, or was somehow involved in the ongoing ICE raids in the area, although he is not an immigrant and was born in L.A.
“It’s very unlike him to not be in contact with us for this long, especially when, mid-conversation, his last text was … talking about Lord of the Rings, and I sent the group chat links about one of his favorite restaurant chains, which he would have for sure responded to,” his daughter Nandi told the outlet.
Anyabwile’s daughter also shared that the 63-year-old often worked and sometimes lived out of his car, delivering for Uber Eats and other similar services. She told The Argonaut that his family was even more concerned because his cell phone had no activity, including calls or data usage, since June 24.
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“Our family’s been here for generations, and he is a community member that gets around,” Nandi said of her dad. “He has his regular deliveries, and people know him and know his face. Even people like residents in the surrounding area of the LA Fitness recognized him.”
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the LAPD’s Missing Persons Unit at (213) 996-1800.
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