The family of 28-year-old Joshua Bevington is seeking help finding him after he went missing from Highland Hospital in Oakland earlier this week. His family says he has gone days without medication for a disorder that can cause life-threatening seizures. His mother last saw him at the hospital on Wednesday, Nov. 4, and the family reported him missing the next day, according to a family advisory.
Reported cigarette-store trip
Bevington, who is from Weed in Shasta County, told his mother, Donna Bevington, he was going to a nearby store to buy cigarettes, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. He had not returned after 30 minutes. His family says he has missed several days of vital medication. He is described as 5 feet 8 inches tall and about 145 pounds, with brown curly hair, blue eyes and a beard.
The family advisory says Bevington has a disorder that can cause potentially life-threatening seizures. The Chronicle reported that Bevington was seen Friday at a Safeway in San Francisco, after his mother last saw him at Highland Hospital on Wednesday.
Possible Sighting Near a San Francisco Safeway
A possible sighting was reported Friday at the Safeway at 850 La Playa St. in San Francisco’s Outer Richmond district. The Chronicle reported that Bevington asked an employee to message his mother on Facebook with his location and say he intended to return to the hospital. A man near the store told the Chronicle he saw Bevington briefly board a bus and then get off.
His father, Mark Bevington, told the Chronicle that the family has been handing out flyers and searching on foot. He said he feared his son could suffer a fatal seizure without help. The family says it has advised Bevington to go to a hospital or, if safe, find a police officer rather than contact anyone directly.
Police Report Filed, Search Continues
The family advisory says the family filed a missing persons report with the Oakland Police Department, which shared it with a national missing persons database.
How missing-person alerts and incident reports are handled
California’s Endangered Missing Advisory has multiple criteria, including that the missing person is unable to otherwise care for themselves, placing their physical safety at risk, according to the California Highway Patrol. The agency says the investigating agency contacts CHP, and they review the incident details and alert activation criteria together.
The Joint Commission says sentinel-event reporting is voluntary, so its reported figures should not be treated as a complete count of such events, according to the Joint Commission.
Anyone with information on Bevington's whereabouts is asked to contact the family at (214) 304-8114, as well as local law enforcement.
