San Diego

Surveillance Photo Renews Hope of Finding 85-Year-Old Man in Scripps Ranch

Taiheng Sun suffers from Alzheimer's and speaks very little English.

Efforts to find a missing 85-year-old Scripps Ranch man have intensified amid new surveillance footage showing the at-risk man wandering in East County. 

Taiheng Sun suffers from Alzheimer's and speaks very little English, investigators say. 

He was last seen at his home around 7 a.m. on the 15000 block of Maple Grove Lane Thursday. When his family returned home after 7:32 p.m. that day, he was gone.

A photo, captured by a surveillance camera on top of a utility pole, shows Sun walking alone into the West Sycamore Staging Area of Mission Trails Regional Park around 8:35 a.m.

The image shows him wearing a blue long-sleeved shirt, a dark blue hat, gray pants, and carrying what appears to be a white windbreaker. These were the exact clothes he was reported missing in, according to San Diego police (SDPD).

As a heat wave scorches San Diego County, the search for Sun has intensified.

Since Friday, police and military helicopters, as well as drones, searched the area by air while about 250 volunteers searched on foot.

They went door-to-door and left approximately 1,500 flyers around Stonebridge, Poway, and Scripps Ranch.

"I'm not giving up hope on anything. I do believe there is hope," said neighbor Gina Manos. "We can find him."

The surveillance photo, released Tuesday, renewed the hopes of family and community members.

"He's a part of all of our families here," Manos said.

By Wednesday, volunteers hope to narrow the search to West Sycamore and Goodan Ranch areas of the park, which are still thousands of acres.

Organizers are asking drone operators who are available to assist in the search. 

If you would like to get involved in the search, email the Civic Association at taisunsearch@scrippsranch.org for more information.

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