A top sprinter from Sierra Leone, who disappeared after competing in last year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, has been arrested after he was found sleeping rough in London.
Jimmy Thoronka raced in the 4x100 metres relay but vanished at the end of the competition in August, along with several other athletes.
The Guardian newspaper said Thoronko was arrested on Friday night for overstaying his visa and is being held at police station in south London.
Before he was taken into custody, the 20-year-old claimed he was too afraid to return to Sierra Leone because of the Ebola virus.
"I was hoping to win a medal for my country. But during the games I got the terrible news that my uncle had died, probably from Ebola," he told The Guardian.
"I couldn't stop crying. It was difficult to continue with competing but I tried to carry on.
"I wanted to go to London for a while after the games but my bag with my money and passport in it was stolen at Glasgow station.
"I was scared to go to the police in case they arrested me and put me in a cell so I begged someone at the station to pay my fare to London and they agreed to do that."
While watching an African TV channel, Thoronka said he discovered that his mother had also died of Ebola and later found out that his entire immediate family had been killed by the virus.
He claimed he was sleeping in parks and on night buses while begging for money to buy food.
"We have a cold season in Sierra Leone but it is not cold like England," he said.
"Some days I don't think I'm going to make it and just feel like killing myself.
"My dream is to become one of the best sprinters in the world but I don't see how that can happen now.
"I'm very frightened of what will happen to me. Life here is very bad for me but if I return to Sierra Leone I don't think I will make it."
Ebola has killed nearly 10,000 people in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea during a year-long epidemic.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We cannot comment on individual cases, but there is assistance available for people to return home when they are not entitled to remain in the UK."
A Met Police spokesman said: "A 20-year-old man was stopped on Thurlow Street at 1900 hours. He was arrested for immigration offenses and is currently in custody."
A page set up on the Gofundme website to "Help Jimmy Thoronka" had raised £8,000 by Saturday morning.
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