Missing Woman, Grandson Find Their Way Home

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By Carol Hutchinson and Martin Weil

Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, August 16, 2008; Page B05

When the 60-year-old woman and her 10-month-old grandson returned home to Arlington County yesterday evening, it prompted jubilation and was, in the words of a witness, "like a made-for-TV movie."

That is because the woman, Lanfen Li, and the toddler, Jeffrey Chen, had left their home on North 30th Street for a walk yesterday morning and vanished. They had no food, money or identification, and Li does not speak English.

"The fact that she did not come back was mind-boggling," neighbor Ann Foss said. "The woman is a quiet little grandma" and not the sort to embark upon an adventurous journey, Foss said.

Officers combed the neighborhood with a search dog -- a "huge search," Foss said. Arlington police issued a news release, asking the public's help and urging anyone with information to call 911 immediately.

As it turned out, Li, while wheeling Jeffrey's stroller, had become lost on the tree-lined residential streets near her home, north of the East Falls Church Metro stop.

According to Detective Crystal L. Nosal, a spokeswoman for the Arlington police, Li spotted the signs indicating a bus stop and tried to use them as guideposts.

The signs, on Westmoreland Street, are for the 24T Route, which runs between East Falls Church and the Tysons Corner area. Li recognized the designation but began following the signs in the wrong direction.

Li was thirsty and Jeffrey hungry when Li decided to knock on a door. Although unable to speak English, she was given water, and Jeffrey was fed, Nosal said.

The 24T bus runs only during rush hours, but eventually Li found herself at a stop just as a bus, headed in the right direction, came by.

A passenger paid her fare, and Li and Jeffrey got on. As the bus headed south on Westmoreland, Li spotted her street, filled with police cars. She got the attention of other passengers, who got the driver to stop.

And about 6 p.m., Foss said, people from the media, encamped on the cul-de-sac, "started to point. . . ." People turned to look and spotted a gleeful Li and "a big, big policeman holding the young boy."

It "was so sweet," Foss said.