Thoreau man missing

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Philip Stake
Staff writer

Max Sylvester

THOREAU — A 67-year-old man is missing. Described as Caucasian, 5 feet 10 inches tall, medium build, with gray hair and a gray mustache, Max Sylvester was last seen at his home on Bluegill Road, about 1 mile north of Cibola National Forest. He has been missing since Wednesday, Aug. 6.

A Vietnam veteran who served two tours, Sylvester has “USMC” tattooed across his right biceps and dog tags and a red rosary around his neck, according to his brother Kirk Salvatore. He was last seen wearing green shorts and a white T-shirt and a Red Cross medical identification bracelet, which has Salvatore’s phone number printed on it. Salvatore said his brother is very friendly and likes to joke, and that upon first meeting most people don’t realize he has Alzheimer’s disease, a malady that can cause sudden dementia and disorientation.

His caretaker, Barbara Gould, reported the disappearance when she came home from an 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. shift Wednesday, Aug. 6, according Salvatore. Cibola County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Harry Hall said Sgt. Mace was the first to respond using thermal imaging equipment to search the area around Sylvester’s home that night.

State police in Gallup were notified, but, based on protocol — not knowing when he left, nor in which direction — decided not to initiate a search, according to Kitty Mason, a volunteer field coordinator for the New Mexico State Police Search and Rescue Team.

After four days, a state police helicopter was dispatched to search overhead for three to four hours, Mason said, and found no sign of Sylvester. And Mason returned when she was off duty, as a “friendly neighbor,” on Thursday, Aug. 14, with her black and tan coonhound, which is training for but not yet certified in search and rescue.

Hall said this is the third time in a month Sylvester has wandered from his home, but in both previous instances he was found and brought home by friends and neighbors.
Salvatore, who drove to Thoreau from his home in Washington state Tuesday said Sylvester lived with him for about five months prior to coming to New Mexico. He said Sylvester had a tendency to wander there, too, which prompted him to attain the medical-ID bracelet. He also said Sylvester is fond of hitchhiking.

Prior to being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Sylvester lived alone in Sedona, Ariz., and may have thumbed a ride in that direction.

If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Max Sylvester, contact Cibola County dispatch, (505) 287-4404, or Kirk Salvatore, (360) 301-1463.