ELI RABAGO - 19 yo/ Challenged - Tucson AZ

The public's help is being sought in locating a missing
teen. Eli Solomon Rabago, 19, is from Phoenix and was visiting family
when he disappeared around 7 a.m. today.
His family reports that he functions at the level of an 11-year-old and is not familiar with Tucson.

He was last seen in the neighborhood northeast of
Campbell and Skyline wearing blue jogging pants, red shirt, gray hooded
sweater and gray New Balance tennis shoes with pink shoelaces.
He may be carrying a red bag.
He is 5-foot, 10-inches tall, weighs about 145 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information is asked to call 911.

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/local/help-sought-in-finding-teen-missing-from-tucson-home/article_f156844c-60cb-11e1-aca1-001871e3ce6c.html#ixzz1nY7psh2A

A developmentally disabled 19-year-old man who was reported missing while visiting family in Tucson was spotted at the Food City at First Avenue and Fort Lowell, his family said Tuesday.

Eli Solomon Rabago, of Phoenix, was visiting his grandparents' home near Skyline and Sunrise drives when he went missing Sunday morning. He was last seen around 7 a.m., the Pima County Sheriff's Department said.

An update on the family's support page on Facebook said:

We have another confirmation that Eli was indeed seen at the Food City at 1st Avenue and Ft. Lowell yesterday!! ... We are asking people to look in the above mentioned area, the 1st Avenue corridor going north, and the parks in that geographic area.

Eli's aunt and a family friend spoke with people at Navajo Park near First and Fort Lowell on Tuesday who confirmed seeing the missing man at the grocery store, said Ruben Rabago, Eli's father.

Rabago, who requires medication, was reportedly seen in the area of the park around 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Ruben Rabago said Monday.

Family and friends have been canvassing the area and have heard reports of Eli being at the grocery store, Ruben Rabago said Tuesday afternoon.

A man at Navajo Park reported seeing a young man fitting Eli Rabago's description at the Food City in that area, said Vince Rabago, a cousin.

http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/022712_missing_man_update/family-more-sightings-missing-teen-1st-ft-lowell/

The family of a Phoenix teen missing in Tucson since Sunday held several search parties around the city on Saturday to look for the developmentally disabled 19-year-old.

Eli Solomon Rabago, of Phoenix, was last seen at his grandparents' home near Skyline and Sunrise drives around 7 a.m. Sunday. Eli has the intellectual ability of an 11-year-old, his family said.

The Rabago family reported Saturday that they had received information about two sightings of Eli in the area of First Avenue and Limberlost Drive, near LA Fitness, 4240 N. First Ave., according to a post on the Rabago Family Support Page on Facebook.

On Friday, the family received a report from a man who said he saw a young man fitting Eli's description at a bus stop at Alvernon Boulevard and Grant Road.

According to the tip, the young man introduced himself as Eli and was with another teen described as about 14 years old, 5 feet 2 inches tall with a slight build, according to a post on Facebook.

In the post, the family said that another man at the bus stop reported seeing Eli at at the Woods Memorial Branch Library, 3455 N. First Ave.

There have been sightings of Eli near First Avenue and Fort Lowell, where family, friends and volunteers have been searching since receiving the first tip Monday. Eli was reportedly seen at the Food City in the area.

On Thursday, someone reported seeing a man fitting Eli's description at the Walmart and a Subway sandwich shop at Ina and Thornydale roads. According to tip, the man had a frozen dinner that he'd taken into Subway and asked staff to heat it for him, the family wrote on the Facebook page.

http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/030212_rabago_update/search-parties-sweep-parts-city-missing-teen/

The parents of missing Phoenix teenager Eli Rabago said Monday they have had confirmation that he is wandering Tucson's streets.
Martta and Ruben Rabago said they were contacted by a woman near Tucson Mall
who said she saw the developmentally disabled 19-year-old on Monday.
The woman took a photo of Eli with her phone and sent it to the Rabagos,
who confirmed it was their son. The Rabagos did not want the photo
released to the media Monday.
The woman called Eli's name and he turned toward her, but became frightened, the couple said.
The Rabagos urge anyone who sees their son not to approach him or call his name because he may flee.
Eli Rabago was last seen by his family the morning of Feb. 26 at his grandparents' home near Skyline and Sunrise drives.
The Rabagos believe Eli has learned how to use the bus and that people on
the street may be helping him stay one step ahead of being found.
The couple said Monday they believe Eli may be asserting his independence
and that they are willing to offer it to him if he comes home. They also
believe that Eli is now afraid because he believes he's in trouble for being missing.
"Eli is not in trouble. We are not mad at him. He needs to know he's not in trouble," Martta said.
"If he doesn't want to live with Mom and Dad, we can find a home for him,"
she said. "We will do as much as we can to get him independent, just not
independent on the street."
Eli was reportedly spotted Sunday
having breakfast at a Midtown church and later near Reid Park.
Throughout last week, the family received reports of Eli being seen near
First Avenue and Fort Lowell to areas north along First to Limberlost.
On Saturday, Martta and Ruben met with some of Tucson's "tunnel kids" —
teenage runaways who take shelter in the city's tunnels in washes and
storm drainage systems —in hopes of finding information on their son.
The couple were so moved by what they saw and the teens they met that
they returned Monday with food and water for the runaways, they said.
The family organized four search parties Saturday that began at 9 and ended
in the afternoon. More than 200 people turned out to search and at
least 2,000 flyers with information about Eli's disappearance were
distributed, the Rabagos said.
The family calls their supporters
the "Pink Shoelace Crew" after the pink shoelaces Eli wears in his
tennis shoes in honor of an aunt who died from breast cancer, according
to a post on the Rabago Family Support Page on Facebook.
The Rabagos believe that Eli may have taken off from his grandparents home
because he was anxious about upcoming AIMS testing and worried about his
grandfather, who is hospitalized with a terminal illness, Martta said.
The family is counting on Tucsonans to report any sightings immediately to police.
"Get our son back to us. We want him home," Martta said Sunday.
The Rabagos are grateful for all the help and support of the community.
"Tucson has embraced us. It is one of those unique places that no
matter how large it grows, it still has its small town feel and sense of
neighborly compassion," the family wrote in a Facebook post.
"We know as time goes by, it becomes more difficult (to find Eli)," Marta
said Sunday. "We're hopeful we'll find him in a few days.
Eli Rabago is Hispanic, 5 feet 10 inches tall, and weighs 145 pounds. He was
wearing blue sweat pants when he left— but now may be wearing black
shorts, a red shirt, a gray hoodie, and gray New Balance tennis shoes
with pink shoelaces. He may be carrying a red bag with personal items
and may be walking with a limp from a recently sprained ankle.
http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/030512_rabago_update/parents-missing-teen-id-son-from-cellphone-photo/

A developmentally disabled teenager who went missing Feb. 26 was
found early Tuesday morning sleeping in a park in Los Angeles, the Pima
County Sheriff's Department said.
"We got him," said Eli Rabago's father Ruben Rabago.
Eli appeared to be in good health, said PCSD spokeswoman Deputy Dawn Barkman.
PCSD detectives were working with the Rabago family to arrange for Eli to be picked up in California, Barkman said.
The
family would not give details around 9:45 a.m. Tuesday about where and
how the teen was found, only a confirmation that they had him.
http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/030612_rabago_update/missing-teen-eli-rabago-found-los-angeles/