Police To Continue Limited Search For Missing At-Risk Santa Rosa Man

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — With the search for a missing at-risk Santa Rosa man in its fifth day Friday and no significant leads or sightings, the Santa Rosa Police Department stopped search operations for the night and planned to switch to a limited search capacity with local resources.

Lawrence "Larry" Atchison, 65, was reported missing Monday from his residence on Leafwood Circle in the Bennett Valley area.

Atchison is considered at-risk because he suffers from dementia and does not know how to navigate his way around the city or how to return home, according to police.

He disappeared Sunday while his wife was in a bathroom for about 15 minutes, The Press-Democrat reported. She looked for her husband for about an hour before she called police.

Atchison is 6 feet tall and weighs 200 pounds. He was gray hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a black Columbia zip-up jacket, jeans and black slip-on shoes. He was last seen walking in the area of Summerfield Road and Carissa Avenue at 4:15 p.m. Monday.

A search-and-rescue operation sprang up overnight amid stormy conditions. Officers and volunteers searched by ground and drones and a helicopter assisted with the search from above.

By early Tuesday morning, the California Highway Patrol had sent out a Silver Alert for the missing Santa Rosa man.

Throughout the remainder of the week, much of the search-and-rescue operation was focused in the Bennett Valley area.

At 5 p.m. Thursday, Santa Rosa police detectives planned to issue a reverse 911 call to residents with a landline phone within a small radius around Leafwood Circle in an effort to glean any information pertinent to the search.

"We are grateful for the community support and all the volunteers who have assisted with the search," Santa Rosa police Sgt. Christopher Mahurin said Friday evening. "We have not had any significant sightings or leads in several days and we are going to a limited search capacity with local resources. Tomorrow, weather dependent, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office volunteer dive team is going to walk creeks and waterways in the Bennett Valley area."

Police again urged those who live in the Bennett Valley area to check their home security footage and anywhere on their property where someone might seek shelter, such as outbuildings, cars, under brush, under porches and under decks.

"We want to thank all the community volunteers and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, the Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit (BAMRU), and the California Rescue Dog Association (CARDA), and California State Parks who have assisted with the search so far," Mahurin said.

"If you see Larry, please contact our Communications Center immediately at 707-528-5222."