Car of missing 76-year-old Oceanside man found in AV [updated]

LAKE LOS ANGELES – The car of a “critical missing person” from San Diego County was found in a desert area of Lake Los Angeles Wednesday morning. But there was no sign of 76-year-old Nikolaos Christidis who reportedly suffers from dementia.

A Lancaster Sheriff’s Station deputy on patrol saw the abandoned car locked and stuck in the soft sand near 155th Street East and Avenue H-6, an area where there are dirt roads and man sand dunes, sheriff’s officials said in a press release. The vehicle was in an area not visible from the road.

“A check of the license plate of the black, 2015 Honda Civic via the California Department of Motor Vehicles database showed the car was associated with Nikolaos Christidis, a critical missing person reported in Oceanside, San Diego County, California,” sheriff’s officials said in a press release.

Lancaster Sheriff’s Station patrol deputies began a ground search of the immediate area for Christidis, and a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department helicopter flew an aerial search in an effort to locate him.

The sheriff’s Antelope Valley Search and Rescue Team also assisted in the search on foot and with off road vehicles.

Oceanside Police investigators arrived at the scene to handle the missing person investigation. After a more than eight-hour search, authorities were unable to locate Christidis.

Oceanside police said Christidis was last seen July 22 at his home in the 3000 block of Strawberry Place. Around 10 a.m. that day, the 76-year-old returned home with his daughter. When the daughter awoke from a nap around 4 p.m., she found a note from Christidis stating he would be home late, officials said.

Christidis didn’t return home; and when his daughter called him the next morning, he said he was in the desert and would be home in an hour. At approximately 4 p.m., his daughter called him again and his phone went straight to voicemail, officials said. Christidis has not been heard from since.Foul play is not suspected, authorities said previously.

Nickolaos Christidis is 5 feet 7 inches tall, around 175 pounds, with gray hair and brown eyes.

Anyone who has any information on his whereabouts should contact Oceanside Police Department Lieutenant Aaron Doyle at 760-435-4694 or Detective Karla Williams at 760-435-4771.

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UPDATED 8.17.15: The body of an adult male was found around 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, in a desert area near 140th Street East and Avenue I in the Lake Los Angeles area. Oceanside police confirmed to KTLA 5 that the body was Nikolaos Christidis. Details on his death were not available, but temperatures in Lake Los Angeles topped 100 degrees Saturday and weather officials had issued an excessive heat warning.