Three months after a 73-year-old Filipino man went missing in Bellingham, his family members say they still have hope, but are no closer to knowing where he is.
Police still consider it an open case.
Burlington Police Detective Jason McDonald said on Oct. 3 that there are no updates on the case but he is still in contact with the family.
“In a case like this, you just wait for leads at this point,” McDonald said.
Edgar B. Aberilla, who has dementia, was last seen July 4 in the Lowe’s parking lot on Sunset Drive after he walked out of his daughter’s residence in Burlington and a neighbor drove him to Bellingham.
Family members have organized two formal search parties, but many more informal searches have been done by his daughter Abigail Tullius, neighbors and coworkers. A shoe carried by Aberilla was found July 23 by members of a search party near the Lowe’s parking lot in Bellingham.
Tullius said no further searches are planned at this point.
“He could literally be anywhere,” she said. She worries he might be in another city or another state by now.
“It sucks, but me and my family really have no choice but to keep moving forward, but we’re still asking friends and concerned citizens to keep an eye out for my dad.”
Tullius said she has not been in contact with the neighbor who drove her father to Bellingham.
Tullius posted a July 4 front-door camera video of Aberilla walking from the house on a Facebook group dedicated to finding Aberilla in September.
Aberilla was last seen carrying a plastic bag filled with shoes, a crossbody bag and an Xbox game in his hand. He is 5-foot-1 and 140 pounds. He has dyed black hair that’s likely grown out and is now grey, Tullius said. He was wearing tan shorts and a dark blue T-shirt the day he went missing.
Tullius said her father knows his name and he knows where he’s from so if people think they see him, they should approach him and ask him his name.
“With each passing day, it’s been really getting harder to locate [him],” she said.
Burlington Detective Sgt. Jeremy Kramer said on Sept. 20 there have been no credible sightings or tips,
“We really don’t have [cases like] these that often,” Kramer said. “Of course, I’m worried about the colder weather if he’s out there.”
