BELTON, Texas — A Belton family is in shambles after their loved one, 79-year-old Rogelio Arias, left his home and has yet to return.
Arias was last seen on a Ring doorbell camera video leaving his home on Saturday, March 9 around 8:30 a.m. His daughter-in-law Esbeida Martinez told 6 News she's not sure why Arias left home.
"We would let him take walks around the neighborhood or to the nearby CEFCO on a time limit," Martinez explained. "This is the first time he didn't come home."
Less than an hour after Arias didn't return home, his family contacted the Belton Police Department to file a missing persons report.
"Police have been very active in trying to find where he is located," Belton spokesperson Paul Romer told 6 News.
Romer said police began the search in a small area. As the days continued, they expanded the search area wider to find Arias.
The last sighting of Arias was a surveillance video of him walking near 1-35 around noon on March 9.
Romer added that Arias does not have a car, cellphone or credit card, and has a language barrier that makes the search for him even more difficult.
Arias also suffers from dementia.
"He's only Spanish-speaking so that's gonna be a barrier to be able to communicate with him," Martinez added. "We encourage people to look in their cameras to see if he's on there."
Arias's family and the community have been searching for him day in and day out. The family has also put together search parties at nearby parks where he's been in the past. Martinez said a family at one park claimed they spotted Arias but that was not confirmed by the family or police.
"The weather has been cold," Martinez continued. "Who knows where he has been? It's just overwhelming, tiring but we're not gonna stop looking for him until we find him."
Arias was last seen wearing a gray cap with the letters 'CP' on it, a black jacket, blue jeans and brown shoes.
Anyone with any information or who believes they have found Arias is asked to contact Belton Police at 254-933-5840 or their local law enforcement immediately.
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