A family has been left anxious after the mysterious disappearance of a beloved grandfather. Reuben Waithaka had traveled 8,200 miles from Kenya to Alabama to watch his first grandson graduate from high school.
But the morning after arriving in the United States with his spouse, Elizabeth Barua, Waithaka left his son’s home in Calera, Alabama, and disappeared.
The 72-year-old was seen on the doorbell video of the house leaving the house at 11:08 a.m. while wearing black shoes, a checkered blue-and-white blouse, and khakis.
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About a half-hour later, surveillance footage saw him heading inside a gas station about two miles away. After giving the store employee a wave, he went into a restroom and disappeared through the back door.
“He just got here. And then he was gone,” his grandson, Byron Barua, 17, who graduated from Calera High School five days later without his grandfather, told CNN.
Before his graduation ceremony, the family held hands and observed a moment of quiet in memory of their lost patriarch. Remaining strong for Byron, his family cheered and applauded as he crossed the stage to receive his diploma on May 20.
“It was tragic, but I tried not to let it get to me or bring me down all the way,” Byron said of his missing grandfather. “I pray for him to stay safe.”
Even now, over seven weeks later, Waithaka has not been found. Police used helicopters, drones, off-road vehicles, tracking dogs, and infrared heat-seeking cameras to search the wooded areas surrounding Calera. They haven’t found anything yet.
His son, Willington Barua, expressed regret about inviting him.
“Sometimes I regret why I asked my parents to come for my son’s graduation. I find myself wondering, ‘What would I have done differently’? Willington said. “Maybe if I hadn’t invited them, my dad would still be with us.”
The family has retraced Waithaka’s actions and again reviewed CCTV footage in search of clues. They have explored the likelihood that Waithaka had undiagnosed dementia or another illness brought on by the stress of being away from home.
The family has been replaying the events leading up to Waithaka’s disappearance, wondering if they missed any clues.
They recalled how agitated Waithaka appeared while visiting the U.S. His family assumed it was simply tiredness from the 18-hour trip, his son, Willington Barua, recalled.
On May 13, Willington Barua’s parents flew from Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. Waithaka drove his small car to the airport, where they boarded a Lufthansa plane through Frankfurt, Germany, to Atlanta, after finishing his daily routine at home and hiring a dog sitter.
The flight to Frankfurt proceeded well, but Waithaka grew incoherent and aggressive throughout the second leg of the journey to Atlanta. According to his son, a flight attendant had to assist Waithaka’s wife in keeping him seated.
Waithaka’s son told CNN that even after arriving, he appeared confused and fell, injuring his knee when he attempted to go the incorrect way down an airport escalator. Willington Barua accompanied his father to the ER when they landed in Calera. He was discharged early in the morning after a CT scan of his head and some bloodwork came back normal, according to Willington Barua.
Waithaka, jet-lagged and fatigued, showered, napped, and ate fried eggs and tea for breakfast. Then he stepped out. His wife first followed him, but when she returned to close the garage door, he was gone, according to his son.
That morning, Waithaka left his son’s house and received two trips from drivers, giving him a big advantage.
Calera Police Chief David Hyche stated that investigators interviewed both of the people who provided him transportation. Waithaka first requested a neighbor to drop him off eight homes away, mistaking it for his son’s home. There, he hailed down a DoorDash driver and requested a ride “to town.” The car came to a stop at a gas station, where Waithaka informed him that the location was good, according to Hyche.
His last known sighting was at a gas station at 11:43 a.m.
A resident later reported seeing someone who fit Waithaka’s description enter a hunting club near the gas station. According to Hyche, the woman told police he crawled under a gate and disappeared into a forested area.
Shortly after he was reported missing, Waithaka’s family appeared on local news and implored people to avoid giving him rides, believing he had taken another trip at a truck stop behind the gas station. They feared that each ride would take him further away from home—and from them.
Both the community and law enforcement worked together to locate the cherished grandfather. In addition to searching nearby abandoned buildings, Calera detectives frequently contacted hospitals, homeless shelters, and immigration authorities to see if Waithaka was listed in their systems, according to Hyche.
Hyche contacted the FBI in Nairobi to request the local carrier to assist in tracking Waithaka’s Kenyan phone, which he had with him when he vanished. This process took a few days.
They discovered, however, that the phone last pinged in Frankfurt, suggesting that it might be in airplane mode, which makes tracking challenging, according to Hyche. Waithaka’s family believes he may have had some money in Kenyan currency but none in U.S. dollars, but the Kenyan also did not have his passport, which holds his B-2 visitor’s visa to the US.
Waithaka has two children in Kenya and two in the United States, including Emily Barua, a daughter who resides in Renton, Washington.
“I want to be hopeful, I really do,” Emily Baruasaid. “But sometimes I wonder — did he sit somewhere and fall asleep in the heat and never (wake) up?”
On June 20, Elizabeth Barua, Waithaka’s wife, who chose not to be interviewed, went back to Kenya to spend time with her family. The couple has visited the United States twice before: in June 2017 and in May 2019. According to his son, Waithaka’s health seemed to be OK and he had no problems on the two previous journeys.
Waithaka turned 73 on June 3. His son was planning a party for him on Father’s Day, his parents’ final weekend in the United States before returning to Kenya.
To celebrate his father, he planned to assemble friends and family from throughout the United States and roast a goat, a Kenyan delicacy.
Even though the party plans were canceled, he still hopes his father will show up eventually.
