Missing Bronx man was intubated and unconscious at hospital, son says

THE BRONX, N.Y. (PIX11) – Papa Birama Sow, a 62-year-old Bronx man who was missing for more than a week, was located by an alert employee at St. Barnabas Hospital, the man’s son Ismael Sow said Monday.

"A woman there saw his picture on social media," Ismael Sow told PIX11 News.  

The son said Papa Sow had fallen and suffered a head injury when he left his home without any identification on Oct. 29.

"He fell down and he was unconscious," Ismael Sow said. "He was intubated the last nine days. Yesterday was the first day he woke up and said his name."

Ismael Sow had flown to New York City from France when he received word that his father was missing. He arrived Thursday and said one of his first stops was St. Barnabas Hospital. His father was apparently there and intubated at the time but no one had identified him yet.

The son was upset, saying he believes investigators didn't aggressively look for his father because Papa Sow had an outstanding warrant for carrying an open container in 2016. This is a minor offense, but Papa Sow apparently had the warrant because he didn't go to court on the "open container" charge that year.  

Papa Sow has ties to the Senegalese community in the Bronx and Harlem. He came to the United States eight years ago and worked at various times as a taxi driver. He had heart trouble and needed to use an asthma pump.

Ismael Sow said he finally received a call Sunday night from hospital supervisors who said they needed him to go to the facility and identify his father.