A 26-year-old man last seen crossing a U.S.-Mexico border checkpoint in South San Diego has now become the focus of a missing person investigation, the San Diego Police Department said on Friday.
Jose Alberto Ortigoza, a Mexican national, has been missing for nearly one week.
San Diego police said Ortigoza was last seen on Jan. 24, just before 3 p.m., entering the U.S. at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. Ortigoza was crossing the border to conduct business of behalf of his employer, Especies y Granos de Baja California, police said.
He hasn’t been heard from since, and has not been in contact with his family or his employer.
According to SDPD detectives, Ortigoza may have entered the U.S. in a 2008 or later model GMC Acadia Crossover or similar type of vehicle.
Police describe him as Hispanic, 5-foot-6 and 170 pounds. He has black hair, brown eyes and goes by the aliases “Alberto” and “Jose Alberto Ortigoza Martinez.”
Anyone with information on Ortigoza’s whereabouts should contact the SDPD Homicide Unit’s Adult Missing Persons section at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
