A California family is worried a loved one is in extreme danger.
Sixty-nine-year-old Charles Dowd was taking a cross-country trip to visit his grandchildren. His family last heard from him when his train left Denver last Thursday.
Dowd never reached his destination.
A retired San Francisco firefighter, Dowd boarded an Amtrak train in the Bay Area last Tuesday. When the train arrived in Chicago on Friday, authorities found his luggage, his medications and his cell phone.
But Dowd was nowhere to be found.
Jennifer Dowd flew in to Omaha Sunday night to begin searching for her father.
"He was on this adventure across the country and he was so excited about it and he had called us everyday from the train so the fact that we haven't heard from him even without his cell phone is just not in my dad's character," she said.
Jennifer was told this was the last place anyone saw her father.
"A conductor or a conductor's assistant who had talked to him and he seemed disoriented and that was in Omaha," she said.
Dowd also has health issues. He takes medication for diabetes and heart problems.
Jennifer said her dad also suffers from restless leg syndrome and he may of gotten off the train here in Omaha to stretch his legs.
One theory is the train left without him.
"But that still doesn't explain why we haven't heard from him in more than 48 hours," Jennifer said.
Richard Rice walks these tracks fairly often.
"I thought I'd come down here and see if I could find any sign of Charlie but nothing so far," Rice said.
Rice notes the old Burlington building was recently broken in to.
"I'd sure look in there," he said. "I just know this ground. I know it'd be awfully easy for someone to get lost or get in trouble after dark down here."
As the search for Charles Dowd continues.
"He wouldn't just disappear and walk away and not call us if was able to call us," Jennifer said.
Anyone with information concerning Charles Dowd's whereabouts is asked to contact Amtrak Police at 1-800-331-0008 or Omaha Police at 444-7867.
