Missing 71-year old Found
Update:On Thursday at about 10:00 AM, Gerald Fitzsimmons arrived home in San Ramon, California in good health and spirits. Gerald explained that after being lost in an unfamiliar area and losing cellular service, he chose to drive home from the Palm Desert to San Ramon.
Past story: A 71-year-old man who was driving from the Bay Area to Palm Desert got lost in the Coachella Valley, phoned for directions, and hasn’t been heard from since, according to a Riverside County Sheriff’s deputy.
Gerald Fitzsimmons suffers from suspected early stages of dementia. He left his home in San Ramon about 8 a.m. Wednesday, and at about 8:30 p.m. that night he called his brother for directions from near Interstate 10 at Monterey Avenue in Thousand Palms.
As Fitzsimmons asked for specific driving directions, the brother noticed Fitzsimmons was having a difficult time navigating and identifying his location, said Riverside County Sheriff’s Sgt. Andy Martinez.
The cell phone signal died and Fitzsimmons has not been seen or heard from since. The sheriff’s sergeant said an extensive air and ground search of the area was conducted with no results.
Fitzsimmons was described as a 6-foot, 5-inch tall white male weighing 250 pounds with blue eyes, light skin, and blond and white hair. He was last seen wearing a dark jacket, dark golf shirt and dark jeans. He was last seen driving a 2015 black Dodge Caravan minivan with California license plate number 7HBW715.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department asked anyone with any information regarding Fitzsimmons’ whereabouts to call them at (760) 836-1600.
