see also: in April 2008:   U. S. Customs and Border Protection Seizes $1.3 Million Worth of Counterfeit Cigarettes   Border Patrol Launches Rhode Island Search   Border Patrol Agent Search Launches in Atlanta   Two Weeks = Two Tons of Marijuana Seized at Arizona Port of Entry   CBP Officers in Texas Find $3 Million Worth of Dope in 'Empty' Sea Container   New Jersey CBP Officers Make $4 Million Heroin Candy Bar Bust   Border Patrol Agents Locate More Than Half Ton of Marijuana ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Sterling, Va. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers started the process of reuniting a North Carolina man, reported missing last week and found wandering around Dulles International Airport Sunday, with his family Monday.

Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA) police officers are making arrangements with Fayetteville, N.C., police officers to return Jirpesh Patel, 37, of Fayetteville, to his family. Patel has been the subject of a missing persons report since his disappearance on April 16.

Patel, through a Department of Homeland Security interpreter team, provided CBP officers with several names Monday afternoon which officers vetted through various law enforcement databases. CBP officers hit on a Fayetteville Police Department missing person’s report and matched Patel to his U.S. Passport photo. CBP officers contacted Patel’s wife and advised her that they were arranging for her husband’s safe return.

"He seemed genuinely unaware of who he was, and it was only through diligent investigative work by CBP Enforcement Officer Henry DeBlock that we were able to correctly identify him and tie him to a missing person’s report.," said Michael Lovejoy, CBP director, Baltimore field operations. "I am pleased that we were able to reunite Mr. Patel with his family and I’m sure Mr. Patel’s family is relieved to have him home again. We are hopeful that being reunited with his family is good medicine for him and we wish Mr. Patel and his family well."

MWAA officers found Patel Sunday morning although he was unable to provide MWAA officers with his name or any identification. He reported that a bag he was carrying, which included his identification and money, was stolen, and that he wanted to return to his home in India. Believing that Patel was a visiting foreigner, MWAA officers escorted Patel to CBP officers at the Dulles International Arrivals Terminal around noon Sunday for immigration processing. CBP officers employed a Hindu-speaking officer before learning Monday that Patel’s native dialect was Gujrathi.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.