Family of missing man from Trinidad asks for help as they wait for answers
LAS ANIMAS COUNTY, Co., (KRDO) - The family of a missing Southern Colorado man with special needs is speaking out for help nearly a week since they've seen him.
David George Shier, who's in his 80s, was last seen on February 11 walking around a Walmart in the town of Trinidad in Las Animas County.
Las Animas County Sheriff's Department says there are no indicators of criminal activity or foul play at this time.
But the Shier sisters share uncertainty as they wait around for answers in their home. Morgan and Darby Shier are hopeful, but they have the same sentiment to find their father.
"I mean he has always left during the day and showed up later where we didn't know he was out doing things, but to not, I mean it is very uncharacteristic for him not to reach out to us and I think that's scary," said Darby.
Shier is described as six feet tall, weighing 162 pounds; and he was last seen wearing boots, blue jeans, and a black hoodie. His daughters describe him as gentle, kind, and a well-known man in the town of Trinidad, which has a population of about 8,000 people.
"Those who of us are close to him and know him well and have context for what he is trying to say can communicate with him but for somebody who maybe isn’t familiar with his condition or doesn’t have any context, it will be really perhaps from an outsider’s perspective challenging to communicate with him," shared his daughter, Morgan.
Shier suffers from expressive aphasia, he may understand what other people say but struggle to answer back easily, and get the words out.
"He may not be able to communicate what happened to him so if someone were to find him it may be less traumatizing to say, ‘Hey you are safe, we are gonna get you help,' and leave it at that," said Morgan.
The sheriff's office says it's unusual for older people to be missing for so long.
"Normally when we've had reports of senior citizens being missing, they've been found within real close proximity to where they've been at and they've been accounted for pretty quickly, this is the first one for 2022 and in recent memory toward we have not been able to locate him," said detective Phil Martin with the Las Animas Sheriff's Office.
The Las Animas County Sheriff's Department tells us this is their first case of a missing person this year. If you have any information, please call the sheriff's department at (719) 846-4441.
