Navy Veteran From NJ Missing For 2 Weeks: Police

NEW JERSEY - A U.S. Navy veteran from New Jersey has been reported missing for two weeks out west, authorities said.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Missing Persons Detail is currently seeking the public’s help in locating Matthew “Matt” Kemper, who may be “in severe emotional distress and in need of medical assistance.”

Kemper, 46, is described as an Asian male, 5-feet-6-inches and 130 pounds with gray hair and brown eyes. He was last seen on Jan. 5 at around 10:50 a.m. near the 11000 block of W. Charleston Boulevard in Las Vegas, Nevada, police said.

Kemper previously lived in Bridgewater, Somerville and Toms River before moving to Utah, per public records. He is currently a National Park Service Ranger at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on the border of Arizona and Utah.

Kemper was last seen staying at Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa and driving a gray 2018 Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck with the Utah license plate G325FZ. His phone was last registered in Glendale, Nevada, News12 New Jersey reported.

Kemper sent "concerning texts to multiple people before not showing up for work at a national park in Arizona," the news outlet reported.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area park rangers have since searched all the routes that could be taken from Las Vegas, Nevada to Lees Ferry, Arizona “by road and by air,” park officials said. “The Bureau of Land Management, County Sheriffs, and Highway Patrols from Nevada, Utah, and Arizona also searched the roads and overlooks.”

Anyone with information about Kemper’s whereabouts are urged to contact the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department at (702) 828-3111, (702) 828-2907 or missingpersons@lvmpd.com.