The 55-year-old Giacomo Campione, better known as Jack, went missing on Halloween in Queens, New York. Days later he was found thanks to a good Samaritan, and now his sister is thanking the spirit of New York… and Halloween candy for keeping her brother safe for days.
Sometimes missing cases can be extremely complicated because the terrain where a person was last seen is not easily navigable. But sometimes, as is the situation with Jack, it’s the missing person who is far too vulnerable to be left to their own devices. Jack has a cognitive disability, and by his sister Giselle Campione’s account, he has the cognitive ability of a 4 to 6 year old.
Jack resides at a group home in Long Island, NY, and together with his housemates they all dressed up for Halloween and got on a bus to have a day of fun, because no matter what our situation in life is — there’s always space for a little joy. However, after leaving a city bus, Jack got inexplicably separated from the rest of the group.
According to Giselle’s account, he ended up roaming for miles around New York City. According to People, during the two days that Jack was alone in the streets he survived on candy he got by asking passerby residents “trick or treat.” This went on until Sunday Nov. 2, when Jack was in front of Queens Plaza during the New York City Marathon.
The city is usually full to the brim as is, but it’s a whole different case of foot traffic when one of the world’s most iconic marathons is going on. At that point Jack was weak from those many days of eating just candy — and he collapsed in front of Queens Plaza. Someone saw him, picked him up, and called the police.
At this point the cops already had a missing person’s report on Jack and immediately contacted his family. New York City is currently beaming after an election where they somehow managed an upset and this felt to Giselle as yet another reason to celebrate the unique camaraderie of the city. Giselle said of the good Samaritan who helped bring her brother back to them, “It’s New York. We see a lot of stuff in New York. Thank you New York for helping my brother.”
Giselle’s focus right now is on the group home. Reportedly her family wants to know exactly the circumstances that led to Jack falling out of the watchful eye of his guides. When a person who needs special care such as Jack is in your responsibility, one wrong move could create a situation that doesn’t necessarily have a happy ending such as this one. So it’s probably best that Jack’s family is following up — because it won’t just benefit them in the long run.
And this does put other things in perspective. Because homelessness is unfortunately increasingly endemic and sometimes such individuals are stripped of their humanity, but this particular case showed that sometimes all it takes is one person who cares to completely change such an individual’s entire situation. Let’s all learn from New Yorkers and be kinder.
