Authorities are in a race against time as they appeal to the public for assistance in locating an at-risk senior citizen who has vanished in Valinda. Jose Luis Gomez Hinojosa, known affectionately as "Chaparro," was last seen on the evening of December 22, prompting officials to turn to the community for help.
Described as a 74-year-old Hispanic male, Hinojosa stands five feet tall and tips the scales at 150 pounds, with hair peppered in hues of black and gray and eyes of a brown so deep. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, releasing a statement, detailed his last known attire as a black jacket paired with black pants.
The aged man is said to frequent Baldwin Park and is noted for being forgetful, a detail that surely deepens the distress of his loved ones whose worry for his well-being has crescendoed into a collective call for support from anyone wielding information that could illuminate the path to his whereabouts.
Those who might know anything about this disappearance are being urged to reach out to the Missing Persons Unit at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Details can be found in their recent plea for help and anyone choosing the shroud of anonymity can phone "Crime Stoppers" at 800-222-TIPS or utilize the web's silent whisper through lacrimestoppers.org;
Sheriff Robert G. Luna and his department are spearheading this search.
