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Missing Uber driver is found in Koreatown and taken to Los Angeles hospital

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A 29-year-old Uber and Lyft driver who went missing in downtown Los Angeles more than a week ago was located late Monday night, authorities said.

Joshua Thiede, who was last seen driving his black Nissan Altima in the 1000 block of Wilshire Boulevard near the 110 Freeway on Feb. 11, was spotted by a concerned citizen in Koreatown around 8 p.m. Monday, according to a statement issued by the Los Angeles Police Department.

Responding officers approached the man believed to be Thiede in the 500 block of South Serrano Avenue, authorities said. The officers determined that the man needed medical attention, and took him to Good Samaritan Hospital.

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Police do not believe Thiede’s disappearance was “criminal in nature,” according to the LAPD.

Police did not disclose Thiede’s condition, or explain how he wound up in Koreatown after disappearing downtown. An LAPD spokesman declined further comment Tuesday morning.

The LAPD found Thiede’s car in the 100 block of South Kingsley Drive on Monday afternoon, less than a mile from where he was located on Monday night.

Thiede’s mother, Janet, thanked those who aided in the search for her son.

“At this time, we do not have all the details. We are just extremely happy that he is alive,” she wrote in a Facebook post published early Tuesday. “We are continuing to ask the LAPD to investigate the circumstances that landed him in the hospital.”

Thiede’s mother previously told the Los Angeles Times that her son has been driving for Uber and Lyft while working on a prototype organic shoe made of pineapple and hemp. His car’s key fob indicated he last drove out of the garage of his Los Angeles apartment on the night of Feb. 11, his mother said.

Phone records show that someone called 911 from his cellphone at 2:32 p.m. the next day.

james.queally@latimes.com

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Follow @JamesQueallyLAT on Twitter for crime and police news in California.


UPDATES:

9:25 a.m.: This article was updated with additional information from the LAPD.

This article was originally published at 5:50 a.m.

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