An 81-year-old Tujunga man with dementia who requires daily medication has been missing since last Thursday night, and Los Angeles police are asking the public for help finding him before the search stretches any further into the rugged terrain that borders his neighborhood. Luis Nabar Castro was last seen around 8:30 p.m. in the 7600 block of Wyngate Street, not far from where the foothills rise toward the Angeles National Forest.
The Los Angeles Police Department issued a formal Silver Alert for Castro on Friday, confirming the details of his disappearance in news release NR26180ne, according to LAPD Online. As reported by the Santa Monica Mirror, Castro is described as a Hispanic man with thinning gray hair, a gray beard and blue eyes, standing about 5 feet tall and weighing roughly 170 pounds. He was last seen wearing a white dress shirt, black pants and white slippers.
Why Officers Moved Quickly on a Silver Alert
California's Silver Alert system exists precisely for cases like Castro's. The program was created through Senate Bill 1047 and operates under California Government Code Section 8594.10, which authorizes the California Highway Patrol to broadcast public alerts when elderly or cognitively impaired residents go missing. Before a local agency can request that statewide activation, it must satisfy five specific statutory criteria, including exhausting local resources first and confirming the missing person is in peril because of age, health or mental impairment, per the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Inside LAPD, that process has its own internal checkpoint. Special Order No. 6 requires officers to complete a Public Alert Form and secure sign-off from an Area detective supervisor or watch commander before a Silver Alert request can move forward. LAPD procedures also note that California law imposes no waiting period for reporting a missing adult, and that investigators must enter qualifying cases into the FBI's National Crime Information Center database within two hours of determining someone is missing.
Because Castro does not appear to have access to a vehicle, any statewide notification would rely on Be-On-The-Lookout broadcasts, Emergency Digital Information Service messages and electronic flyers rather than the overhead freeway signs used for alerts involving a car, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. A similar alert method was used earlier this month when Hoodline covered a Rocklin man found safe after wandering while trying to hitchhike.
A Medical Clock That Cannot Be Ignored
Castro's dementia diagnosis, and his need for medication, are central to why authorities are treating his disappearance with urgency. Data from the Alzheimer's Association shows that six in ten people living with dementia will wander at least once during their illness, and many experience repeated episodes. The same guidance warns that missing individuals with dementia face a significantly elevated risk of serious injury or death if they are not located within 24 hours of wandering off.
State training standards reflect that same urgency. In November 2025, the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training published official Wandering Guidelines under Penal Code Section 13515.40, establishing standardized response procedures for dispatchers and patrol officers handling missing-person cases involving cognitive impairment.
Searching Ground That Rises Into the Foothills
Geography adds another layer of difficulty to the search. The LAPD's Foothill Community Police Station, which covers Tujunga, patrols a 46.13-square-mile area that runs directly up against the steep mountain terrain of the Angeles National Forest. That proximity to wilderness terrain can complicate search efforts for a disoriented resident on foot, especially compared with flat urban blocks.
LAPD has asked anyone with information on Castro's whereabouts to contact the Foothill Division at 818-756-8861, or to call 911 in an emergency. The case adds to a string of recent Silver Alerts across the state, including ones Hoodline covered for a 74-year-old man near Frazier Park and a Sanger man last seen on foot, underscoring how often families and police departments across California are confronting the same race against time.
