Missing
Antonio Andrade Cruz
Cruz, approximately 2003
Date and time person was reported missing : 05/28/2003
Missing location (approx) :
San Diego, California
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
Hispanic
DOB : 01/17/1920 (101)
Age at the time of disappearance: 83 years old
Height / Weight : 5'7, 170 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A blue plaid shirt, a blue jacket and black pants.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Hispanic male. Gray hair, gray eyes. Cruz's nickname is Tony.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Cruz was last seen leaving the residence he shared with his girlfriend in the 1200 block of 10th Avenue in San Diego, California between 6:00 and 8:00 a.m. May 28, 2003 in San Diego, California. He was reportedly on the way to the nearby post office to pay the utility bill. He never returned home and has never been heard from again.
Cruz was having trouble walking at the time of his disappearance and often used a cane or walker. He had contacts in downtown San Diego and had also visited Yuma, Arizona and Ensenada, Mexico, but there is no indication that he had plans to go anywhere at the time of his disappearance.
After his disappearance, $25,000 in cash, which Cruz kept in case of emergency, was discovered Missing location (approx) : the safe in his apartment. Whoever took the money knew the combination. A gun which he kept under his bed was also missing.
Ten days after he vanished, someone cashed checks on his account in Mexico. The checks were made out to a nonexistent sheet metal company. The total amount was $48,000; Cruz had had $48,500 in his account at the time.
Authorities discovered someone had been to the post office and changed Cruz's mailing address to a nonexistent address in San Antonio, Texas, which was the town where he was born. Detectives checked surveillance cameras at the Mexican border crossings and saw someone resembling Cruz sitting in the backseat of a car with two men. The same vehicle returned to the United States later without him.
Cruz is an Army veteran and formerly worked at North Island Naval Air Station. He left behind seven children, two of whom have died since his disappearance. He was still legally married at the time of his disappearance, but his wife had Alzheimer's Disease. She died in 2005. Cruz's case remains unsolved.
Other information and links : ncy
San Diego Police Department
619-531-2000
September 2021 updates and sources
California Attorney General's Office
San Diego Police Department
The San Diego Union Tribune
October 12, 2004. October 10, 2015; name corrected, two pictures added, Description, clothing, jewerly and more : and Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
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