Six Haitian soccer players, who are members of Haiti’s Special Olympics delegation, mysteriously disappeared during the competition in Kissimmee, Florida on Monday after returning their hotel room keys and leaving their luggage behind.
The players were last spotted around 2:30 p.m. as the games got underway at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, according to local outlets.
The missing Haitians were identified by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office as 18-year-old Oriol Jean, Anderson Petit-Frère, also 18; Peter Mianovich Berlus, 19; 20-year-old Nicholson Fontilus, Steevenson Jacquet, 24 and Antione Joseph Mithon, 34.
All six returned their hotel room keys and left behind their luggage in their rooms before they vanished.
The games debuted on Sunday and will run through June 12 in and around Orlando. More than 5,500 athletes and coaches from the United States and Caribbean nations are represented, according to organizers.
Petit-Frère was one of the soccer players featured on Team Haiti’s Instagram account last week.
“My name is Anderson Petit-Frère, I am from Port-au-Prince and I am 18 years old,” the young athlete wrote.
“I am an unified player and I am part of the Special Olympics Haiti unified soccer team. It’s a big joy and honor to be part of that team. I will do my best to help the athletes in the USA Games Orlando 2022.”
Soccer was slated to be played throughout the week, although the schedule of individual matches were not specifically listed on the event’s website.
