CHP ends Silver Alert for missing Elk Grove man; police say search still ‘active, ongoing’
The CHP has taken off its alert message for Kiflit Ghebremariam, the 77-year-old man who went missing from his Elk Grove home nearly two months ago, but police say their search continues.
California Highway Patrol officials in a Twitter post announced they had deactivated a Silver Alert for the Elk Grove man about 1 p.m. Monday. Ghebremariam, who has dementia, went missing from his home near East Taron Drive in Elk Grove’s Stonelake neighborhood on the morning of Aug. 9 while on his morning walk.
But an Elk Grove police spokesman said Monday the investigation into the man’s whereabouts is “active and ongoing,” even as he said there was no new information to report. Family members were not immediately available.
“CHP deactivated the Silver Alert based on the time that had elapsed since Mr. Kiflit Ghebremariam was first reported missing and after consultation with our Investigations Bureau,” police spokesman Jason Jimenez said via email.
The California Highway Patrol’s Silver Alert notification system alerts Californians of missing seniors, particularly those with dementia, Alzheimer’s or other disabilities, to help aid their safe return.
Since the disappearance, dozens of family members and friends have embarked on wide-reaching searches across Elk Grove and surrounding communities and taken to social media to track possible sightings from as far away as Natomas and Rancho Cordova.
Family members have appealed to Elk Grove police and the city’s mayor, Bobbie Singh-Allen — who at one point joined in the search — to step up efforts to find the missing man.
Elk Grove police, joined by specially trained search dog teams led by Sacramento and Yolo County searchers, scoured the Stonelake area in August while Elk Grove and local businesses have shared security camera images to no avail.
Ghebremariam is a Black man, 5 feet, 8 inches and 170 pounds. He was bald when last seen, with a white mustache. He was last seen wearing a white shirt, dark blue pants and black tennis shoes.
Anyone with information regarding Ghebremariam’s whereabouts is asked to call Elk Grove Police Department at (916) 714-5115.
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