Georgia · Fulton County · Missing & Alerts

Mattie's Call in South Fulton, Georgia: Gibril Kanu, 37, Missing Since Monday, Last Seen at River Oak Terrace in Atlanta

The South Fulton Police Department asked the public on Tuesday to help find a 37-year-old man who investigators say is autistic and has bipolar disorder. He has not been seen since Monday morning.

By Kate Thompson Published Aug. 25, 2026, 12:28 p.m. ET 7 min read Missing

What did South Fulton police say about Gibril Kanu?

Police in South Fulton are asking anyone who has seen a 37-year-old man since Monday morning to get in touch with them.

They identified him as Gibril Kanu. Investigators say Kanu is autistic and has bipolar disorder, FOX 5 Atlanta reported Tuesday morning.

He was last seen at River Oak Terrace, which police place in Atlanta.

Kanu is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 190 pounds. When he went missing he had on a gray Army shirt and gray sweatpants.

Where was Gibril Kanu last seen?

At River Oak Terrace. Police give the city as Atlanta.

The department working the case is South Fulton's, and the City of South Fulton lists that department's own address as 100 Hartsfield Center Parkway in Atlanta.

South Fulton sits in the southwest corner of Fulton County, the same county Atlanta sits in.

Which agency holds the case, and how do you reach it?

The South Fulton Police Department made Tuesday's appeal and holds the case.

The city's police department page gives the agency's phone number as 470-809-7300 and its address as 100 Hartsfield Center Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30354.

What is a Mattie's Call, and who qualifies for one?

Mattie's Call is Georgia's emergency missing alert for disabled or elderly people. The Georgia General Assembly established it in 2006.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation describes it as an investigative tool that can be activated only by a local law enforcement agency. The state does not start one on its own.

On who qualifies, the GBI states that Georgia law defines disabled adults as individuals who are developmentally impaired or who suffer from dementia or some other cognitive impairment.

Five criteria have to be met before the alert is activated.

A local law enforcement agency has to believe a disabled person is missing and in immediate danger of serious bodily injury or death. That agency has to verify the disappearance through its own investigation and eliminate alternative explanations for it.

Enough information has to be available to give the public something that could help locate the person. The person has to be entered into the National Crime Information Center database.

And the agency has to issue a statewide broadcast to law enforcement and 911 centers, and contact local media about the missing person.

Advertisement

How does Georgia's public alert system work?

Mattie's Call is one of four alerts inside Georgia's Public Alert System, which the GBI operates. None of the four is issued by the state on its own initiative.

Each is activated by a local law enforcement agency that asks the GBI to open one. The bureau then puts the finished bulletin to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency for activation.

GEMA transmits the bulletin to broadcasters, and decides with law enforcement whether it runs statewide or regionally. Broadcasters are asked to run it at least twice in the first hour and once every hour for the next three.

The system is a partnership between the GBI, the Georgia Sheriffs' Association, GEMA, the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Georgia Association of Broadcasters and the Governor's Office.

In Georgia the AMBER Alert carries a Georgia name. It is Levi's Call, named for Levi Frady, an 11-year-old from Forsyth County who was abducted and killed in October 1997. Law enforcement officials are still searching for his killer, the GBI says.

Kimberly's Call, also from 2006, is issued when a violent criminal is at large and may be a serious threat to the public. Blue Alert, from 2010, covers suspects who kill or seriously injure officers, and officers missing in the line of duty.

Of the four, Mattie's Call is the only one built around a missing member of the public who is an adult. Blue Alert reaches adults as well, but only officers missing in the line of duty.

What do the rules say about how quickly a report is taken?

None of those five criteria is a clock. Each turns on what the investigating agency believes and what it has verified.

Federal law addresses the database side. Title 34, Section 41308 of the U.S. Code requires each state to ensure that no law enforcement agency within it maintains any policy requiring a waiting period before accepting a missing child or unidentified person report.

That bar covers children and unidentified persons. The next paragraph is not limited to children.

It requires each state to ensure that no agency within it maintains any policy requiring the removal of a missing person entry from the state law enforcement system, the National Crime Information Center database or the NamUs databases based solely on the age of the person.

An entry, once made, does not lapse because the person turned out to be an adult.

Advertisement

Hurt in a Georgia accident?

Find out what your claim is worth.Before you talk to anyone.

Ask what your accident claim could be worth, what a police report actually establishes, and what an adjuster is allowed to ask.

Trained on thousands of top injury lawyers — not a chatbot guessing.Answers in minutes, day or night.No forms. No spam. No callbacks.

1-866-CALL-HIM

Free24/7Any question

Why does a disability change how a missing-person case is handled?

Georgia's answer is structural: there is a separate alert for it. Mattie's Call applies only to disabled or elderly people, and it carries its own activation criteria.

The standard inside the alert is urgency. The activating agency has to believe the person is in immediate danger of serious bodily injury or death, not merely that the person is unaccounted for.

The first hours carry the weight. The GBI points agencies to A Child Is Missing, a nonprofit the bureau describes as helping law enforcement in the early search and recovery of missing children, the elderly, on-campus college students and the disabled in the first hours of a disappearance.

The GBI says the program places telephone alert calls to residents and businesses in the area where the person was last seen — up to 1,000 calls in 60 seconds — and that it is free to law enforcement and available nationwide around the clock.

That is the reason a physical description, a street and a set of clothes go out to the public within a day rather than a week.

Which other Georgia missing-person cases have we covered this month?

Two of the closest ones ended with the person located.

In the same county, Katrice Simmons, 59, was missing from Lanier Street NW in Atlanta since May 19 before her family said she had been found.

In Cobb County, Paul Mackay, 76, who has dementia, went missing near Roswell Road in Marietta and was later found safe, police said.

Two more appeals went out Tuesday, both for teenagers: Gabriale Foskey, 17, of Guyton in Effingham County, and Zariyah Miller, 15, of Douglas County.

The rest of our county coverage sits at the Fulton County hub.

What we don't know yet

Frequently asked questions

Who is Gibril Kanu?
Gibril Kanu is a 37-year-old man the South Fulton Police Department asked the public to help find on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. Investigators say he is autistic and has bipolar disorder.

When and where was Gibril Kanu last seen?
Police say he was last seen on Monday morning, Aug. 24, 2026, at River Oak Terrace in Atlanta.

How did police describe Gibril Kanu?
Police describe him as 5 feet 10 inches tall and 190 pounds. When he went missing he had on a gray Army shirt and gray sweatpants.

Which agency is handling the Gibril Kanu case?
The South Fulton Police Department. The City of South Fulton lists that department at 100 Hartsfield Center Parkway in Atlanta and gives its phone number as 470-809-7300.

What is a Mattie's Call?
Mattie's Call is Georgia's emergency missing alert for disabled or elderly people, established by the Georgia General Assembly in 2006. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation describes it as an investigative tool that can be activated only by a local law enforcement agency.

Who qualifies for a Mattie's Call in Georgia?
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation states that Georgia law defines disabled adults as individuals who are developmentally impaired or who suffer from dementia or some other cognitive impairment.

What has to be true before a Mattie's Call is activated?
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation publishes five criteria. A local agency believes a disabled person is missing and in immediate danger of serious bodily injury or death. That agency verifies the disappearance through its own investigation and eliminates alternative explanations. Enough information is available to give the public something that could help locate the person. The person is entered into the National Crime Information Center database. The agency issues a statewide broadcast to law enforcement and 911 centers and contacts local media.

Does Georgia have an AMBER Alert?
Georgia's AMBER Alert is called Levi's Call, named for Levi Frady, an 11-year-old from Forsyth County abducted and killed in 1997. It is one of four alerts in Georgia's Public Alert System, alongside Mattie's Call, Kimberly's Call and Blue Alert.

How is a Georgia alert bulletin distributed?
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation requests activation through the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, which transmits the bulletin to broadcasters. GEMA, working with law enforcement, decides whether the alert runs statewide or regionally. Broadcasters are asked to run it at least twice in the first hour and once every hour for the next three hours.

Can a missing person be dropped from a police database because of their age?
Federal law at 34 U.S.C. 41308 requires each state to ensure that no law enforcement agency within it maintains any policy requiring the removal of a missing person entry from the state law enforcement system, the National Crime Information Center database or the NamUs databases based solely on the age of the person.