Nathaniel David Sanchez was last seen near the corner of Floyd Curl Drive and Wurzbach Road in San Antonio's South Texas Medical Center on Sept. 9, wearing orange hospital clogs and no shoes. His family hasn't heard from him since Aug. 28, and San Antonio police are now asking the public for help finding him.
Sanchez, who stands about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs around 130 pounds, was last seen wearing a black shirt, black shorts, and glasses, according to WOAI. He has black hair that's straight and combed to the right, brown eyes, and tattoos on both arms, including a koi fish design on one arm. He is left-handed.
Anyone with information about his location is asked to call the San Antonio Police Department Missing Persons Unit at 210-207-7660, the outlet reports. The unit operates around the clock and, per City of San Antonio policy, requires no waiting period before a missing adult report can be filed within city limits.
A Medical Corridor Packed With Foot Traffic
The intersection where Sanchez was last seen sits at the heart of the South Texas Medical Center, a district spanning hundreds of acres of hospitals, specialty clinics, and research institutes, including Methodist Hospital, St. Luke's Baptist Hospital, and UT Health San Antonio, according to the South Texas Medical Center. The area is described as a bustling medical corridor with heavy daily vehicle traffic, the same source notes.
The district is also in the middle of new development. Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas announced in June a 16-acre initiative called Ministry Park, bounded by Wurzbach Road, Floyd Curl Drive, and Medical Drive, intended to expand patient lodging and community health access in the same stretch of the Medical Center.
Second Medical Center Disappearance in Weeks
Sanchez's case is not the only recent disappearance tied to this corner of San Antonio. Just days before he was reported missing, San Antonio police on Aug. 31 launched a public search for 46-year-old Evonne Marie Llanes, who vanished from Medical Drive in the same medical complex, according to KENS 5. Llanes had a diagnosed medical condition and distinct tattoos at the time she went missing, the station reported. Hoodline previously covered that search for Llanes.
Why No Emergency Alert Went Out
No statewide emergency mobile alert accompanied the search for Sanchez, and Texas law helps explain why. Under the Texas Department of Public Safety's CLEAR Alert guidelines, emergency broadcast notifications for missing adults between 18 and 64 require preliminary verification of imminent danger of bodily injury or death, or evidence of an involuntary disappearance such as kidnapping, within 72 hours. The CLEAR Alert system was created in 2019 to bridge the gap between Amber Alerts for children and Silver Alerts for seniors.
Texas law does require a fast police response regardless of alert status. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 63.00905 mandates that law enforcement agencies begin investigating missing person reports immediately upon receipt, with no mandatory waiting period, a requirement that applies to every municipal police department and sheriff's office in the state.
A Backlog Years in the Making
San Antonio's missing persons caseload has drawn scrutiny before. A January 2024 analysis using National Missing and Unidentified Persons System data ranked San Antonio among the top 10 U.S. cities for unresolved missing persons cases, recording 157 open cases at the time, according to KENS 5.
Statewide, adults made up roughly 29% of the 44,783 missing person entries Texas logged into the FBI's National Crime Information Center in 2024, per the Texas Department of Public Safety. The Texas Center for the Missing separately logged 12,080 missing adult reports out of 40,309 total missing person cases filed statewide in 2025. Locally, Bexar County commissioners approved $370,000 in the fiscal year 2026 budget to create a dedicated Missing Persons Unit within the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, aiming to address high daily case volumes after investigators previously managed hundreds of open cases alongside homicide duties, according to the San Antonio Report.
Anyone who has seen Sanchez or has information about his whereabouts is urged to contact the San Antonio Police Department Missing Persons Unit.
