Man headed to South Tahoe found in Texas
By News 10
VACAVILLE – A 57-year-old man suffering from dementia has been safely located at the U.S./Mexico border, after being reported missing on Thursday. He was taken into custody by the Hudspeth County Sheriff’s Office in Texas.
Jose Ruben Valdez was found about a half hour east of El Paso Texas near the border on Friday just before 1 p.m. U.S. Border Patrol officials detained him when he tried to cross the border, then notified the Vacaville Police Department that had been working to locate Valdez using modern technology to track his whereabouts, said Vacaville police spokesman Mark Mazzaferro.
The missing man’s license plate was scanned when he approached the border checkpoint and border patrol agents received a hit that Valdez was a missing at-risk person.
Before being found Friday, Valdez was last seen by family members around 11pm Wednesday when he left his home in Anaheim to travel to a relative’s house in South Lake Tahoe. He was able to contact loved ones from several different locations but told them he was lost. His family told police due to his dementia, Valdez may easily become confused or lost if left alone.