Upper West Side

NYC family pleads for help finding missing father of 6 with Alzheimer's

Alberto Saldana has wandered off before, his family says, but Wednesday was the first time he left the home without his cell phone

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A family in New York has a desperate plea to their neighbors to keep an eye out for a missing father.

Alberto Saldana, 69, has been missing from his Upper West Side home for more than two days and suffers from Alzheimer's disease.

A surveillance camera captured the moment he left his apartment on 70th Street and West End Avenue around 4 p.m. on Wednesday. He was last seen wearing an olive green t-shirt and blue pajama pants.

His family is asking the public: if you see Saldana, approach him and call him by his name, then escort him to the nearest police precinct.

Saldana has wandered off before, his family says, but Wednesday was the first time he left the home without his cell phone.

"He doesn’t like to ask for help. He’ll probably be sitting somewhere, quiet, if help is offered, he’ll say yeah," Saldana's son, David, said.

Every day the 69-year-old is missing is another day he goes without his daily medication needed to treat his Alzheimer's. His family says the longer he goes without the medication, the more his memory worsens.

So far, his relatives have searched nearby hospitals, shelters and parks, even going up to the Bronx by Yankees Stadium because Saldana loves the team.

"My fear is that he’s been on the streets two nights already without a sweater, no money, no food," his stepson, Jimmy Montero, said Friday.

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