'It is well': Norbert Mao's son found

LOST AND FOUND

When Norbert Mao's son left home in the company of a friend unknown to the family Monday evening, the Democratic Party president-general would never have imagined any worse scenario than having his beloved Nico not return.

Yet, that is exactly what happened.

Nicholas Hope Opio, a 19-year-old guitar enthusiast in his Form Six vacation, was not seen back home that day. His phone was off.

A frantic search for him ensued, with his parents reporting his disappearance to Police. Mao and Nico's mother reached out to relatives and friends in an attempt to establish their teenage son's whereabouts.

They also contacted his other known friends and their family members, but they had not caught sight of him.

It was the same unwanted response from his friends at Watoto Church North "where he [Nicholas] plays guitar in the church band". They, too, had not seen him or heard from him.

Nico successfully completed his A-Levels at Vienna College in July. His going missing only a month later would get any parent worried to the bone.

But Mao did not let his sense of desperation metamorphose into despair, thanks mostly to the outpouring of support his said he received from "concerned people from all walks of life in Uganda and abroad".

NO GIVING UP: Mao and his wife contacted friends and relatives over the whereabouts of their son Nico. (File photo)

Eventually, Mao's perseverance and elevated measure of optimism would soon pay off.

At 12:55am Thursday, they found Nico.

"We found him asleep.

"His guitar leaning on the wall. His host (a cousin) said he wanted some time alone to reflect. I let him sleep. No fuss," read Mao's message, posted as an update (to an earlier message on the disappearance) on his Twitter page at 4:02am Thursday.

Hours of frantic searching, some of which were blind alleys, had, according to a relieved Mao, paid off.

"We have found Nico! I give the highest form of praise one can give the Living God. Nico is well," he wrote hours after reuniting with his son.

Rain factor

So what happened?

It is understood that Nico, as he is better known, was at his cousin's - safe and sound.

"His cousin said he had written a note he [had] wanted dropped at home to let us know that he was fine. But alas the heavy downpour frustrated his plans!" said Mao.

"There will be time to talk. I wrote him a letter which he will read when he wakes up.

'Friends are relatives you choose'

The DP leader has voiced his gratitute for the "love and ecounragement" that kept him and his family going during those difficult hours of his son's disapperance.

"How I wish I could embrace all those whose outpouring of prayer, love and encouragement kept me from imagining and believing the worst. Your calls and messages kept our spirits high.

"Concerned people from all walks of life in Uganda and abroad offered support. I especially thank our friends for keeping us from the abyss of despair. Indeed, friends are relatives you choose. We may not be related by blood, but we are related by love. May God bless you abundantly," he wrote.


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