By Joshua Melvin
The Contra Costa Times
SAN MATEO, Calif. — San Mateo police have joined the effort to find a retired firefighter who went missing from an Illinois-bound Amtrak train last week.
Police announced Thursday they have sent two detectives to Colorado to help in the search for Charlie Dowd, 69, of San Mateo.
Dowd’s family last heard from him Sept. 13 when his train was leaving Denver. Amtrak officials said he may have fallen from the train that night.
San Mateo Sgt. Dave Norris said the detectives, who were not named, have been sent to help with the “massive undertaking of coordinating a search over hundreds of miles of railroad tracks.”
The search area is between Fort Morgan, Colo., and McCook, Neb., which encompasses about 160 miles of rail lines, the missing man’s family said.
When Dowd’s train from Emeryville to Chicago arrived Sept. 14, officials found his luggage, cellphone and medication aboard the train. But there was no sign of Dowd, who was taking a cross-country trip to visit family in Montreal, Canada.
Dowd is about 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighs 175 pounds with gray hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information about his whereabouts can call Amtrak at 1-800-331-0088.
His family has created a Facebook page with the latest news on the search: www.facebook.com/MissingPersonCharlieDowd.
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