An 81-year-old Yucca Valley man with early-stage dementia and diabetes has been missing since Wednesday afternoon, prompting a Silver Alert from San Bernardino County authorities. Ray Elliot was last seen around 2:30 p.m. traveling westbound near Camino Del Cielo, driving a white 2013 Ford E150 Econoline van with California license plate 77489F2.
According to KESQ, Elliot is described as five feet, 11 inches tall and about 155 pounds, with brown hair worn in a slicked-back ponytail. He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt with a brown and blue design, black pants, black shoes, and reading glasses. Deputies asked the public for help locating him as the search continues.
Elliot was last seen traveling westbound near Camino Del Cielo. Authorities asked the public to help locate him.
Why Two Medical Conditions Raise the Stakes
Elliot's combination of early-stage dementia and diabetes adds urgency beyond a typical missing-person case. Research cited by the Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation shows that roughly 60% of people with Alzheimer's disease will wander from home or a care setting at least once.
Medical research summarized by PMC notes that dementia-related wandering can pose physical risks to missing individuals. Elliot was last seen near Camino Del Cielo.
How the Search Effort Is Being Coordinated
The response falls to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department's Morongo Basin Station, based in Joshua Tree, which is the third-largest sheriff's station by geographic region in the county and covers Yucca Valley, Twentynine Palms, and the surrounding rural desert, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Before any Silver Alert can go out, state law requires local deputies to exhaust local resources and confirm the missing person is 65 or older, or cognitively impaired, and facing imminent peril, per California Government Code Section 8594.10 as described by the California Highway Patrol.
Public alerts provide information to help identify missing people, as outlined by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
How Residents Can Help or Get Alerts
The public alert includes information about Elliot's disappearance.
Anyone with information is asked to contact sheriff's dispatch at 760-956-5001 or the Morongo Basin Station at 760-366-4175. Callers who see Elliot should dial 9-1-1 immediately. Tips can also be submitted online at mobile.catapultems.com/sbcsd/sites, or anonymously through We-Tip by calling or texting 844-909-3006.
This case has prompted a public request for information about Elliot's whereabouts.
