Robert Carpenter was last seen at a memory care facility in Vista. The San Diego County Sheriff's Office says he is unfamiliar with the area and unable to speak clearly.
Deputies Issue Urgent Appeal for Help
According to the San Diego Sheriff
, Carpenter was last seen at his memory care facility and is described as unfamiliar with the Vista area and unable to speak with clarity. The office's social media post asked the public and the city of Vista for help finding him, and urged anyone who spots him to call 911 immediately.
The sheriff's social media post listed the facility's address as 1860 Devon Place in Vista.
California law requires each residential care facility for the elderly to maintain an absentee-notification plan for missing residents. The plan must specify when the facility’s administrator or designee informs a resident’s authorized representative and when local law enforcement is notified. The requirement applies to facilities in that licensed category; the sheriff’s post, as described here, does not identify Carpenter’s facility by name or license type.
Carpenter's Previous Missing
The sheriff's office emphasized in its public appeal that Carpenter is unfamiliar with the Vista area and unable to speak with clarity.
This is not the first time Carpenter has gone missing. The bulletin transcript notes that he previously walked away from Scripps La Jolla Hospital in September and was found after walking seven miles barefoot.
Missing-person searches involving dementia can present distinct risks: the Alzheimer’s Association says six in 10 people living with dementia wander at least once. The organization advises starting search-and-rescue efforts immediately and says many people who wander are found within 1.5 miles of where they went missing. Its guidance says to call 911 if the person has not been found within 15 minutes. This is general guidance and does not establish that Carpenter has dementia.
Anyone who sees Carpenter is asked to call 911.
A senior memory-care community called Vista Gardens, which describes itself as a Bayshire Senior Community in Vista, operates in the area, though nothing in the available materials confirms it as the facility Carpenter left.
