Son of Missing Couple Pleads for Help

Cecil Knutson, 79 and Dianna Bedwell, 67 were last seen Sunday afternoon leaving Valley View Casino in a white 2014 Hyundai Sonata.

A Riverside County man is pleading for the public to help find his parents, a couple who was last seen leaving a casino on Mother’s Day.

“Everyone should know that these two wonderful people have been taken from us,” Robert Acosta said of his parents who never arrived for a planned family dinner Sunday evening.

“Just release them, I don't care. I just want my mom and dad back. My daughter wants her grandma and grandpa back.”

Investigators with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, Orange County Sheriff's Department or Riverside County Sheriff's Department are helping in the search for Cecil Knutson and Dianna Bedwell.

Knutson, 79 and Bedwell, 67 were last seen leaving Valley View Casino in a white 2014 Hyundai Sonata at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The Fullerton residents were scheduled to go to their son's home in La Quinta later in the day but they never showed up.

Acosta said it’s very uncharacteristic for his mother to be unavailable by phone. He’s been driving in the area of the casino looking for anything that may give a clue as to their whereabouts.

“I know my mom is telling my dad, ‘He’s coming for us,’” Acosta said.

Both are diabetic and dependent on insulin. Acosta has their medicine with him, in hopes that he can give it to them in person.

He's also brought their financial records from their home to give to investigators.

Acosta said their disappearance is highly unusual, as they are always punctual and are always in touch with family members.

“People don’t just disappear,” Acosta said. “I don’t know if they were abducted or they went down a nasty hill and we just can’t find them.”

Acosta said his mother’s sister, Sylvia Likens, was a victim of a violent crime in the 1960s. Likens was tortured and murdered in Indiana, he explained.

He hopes that his parents have not suffered the same fate and is asking for anyone's help in locating the missing couple.

Homicide detectives were assisting in the search although officials said the incident is still considered a missing persons case. It is standard procedure to include homicide detectives in such cases, department officials told NBC 7. 

The Florida-based daughter of the missing couple has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for a $5,000 reward. She says the family is coordinating with law enforcement to dispense the money should a tipster find clues to the couple's whereabouts.

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