Family members and Amtrak officials are looking for a retired California man who disappeared from a train somewhere between Denver and Chicago.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said Sunday that the railroad is searching for Charlie Dowd, 68, of San Mateo Calif.
Dowd boarded the Amtrak train on Wednesday, Sept. 12 in the San Francisco area.
Dowd's son, who was the last to hear from him, talked to his dad by cellphone on Thursday evening when the train was in the Denver area.
Dowd is believed to have possibly disembarked in Omaha Friday morning after becoming disoriented, believing he was in an apartment instead of on a train.
Dowd's luggage, cellphone and medication arrived in Chicago without him on Friday. Family members say they are worried that Dowd may become disoriented without his medication.
Dowd is a retired firefighter who is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 175 pounds. He has blue eyes and gray hair.
UPDATE:
The Dowd family is expanding their search to include the Amtrack line running from Lincoln towards Ft. Morgan, Colo.
Apparently a passenger saw Dowd near a door on the train around 10 p.m. on Thursday. Another passenger reported an exterior door ajar around 11 p.m. the same night.
Amtrack officials believe Dowd may have opened the door and fallen out, which would place Dowd somewhere between Ft. Morgan, Colo. and McCook, Neb. There is approximately 160 miles of rail lines between the two locations.
The Yuma County Sheriff's Department is coordinating a search there.
Updates on the case can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MissingPersonCharlieDowd.
Charles Dowd
