Missing Former Firefighter Last Seen on Amtrak

A Bay Area family is asking for the public's help in finding an at-risk 69-year-old San Mateo man who left the Bay Area on Amtrak Wednesday and was last seen by a train conductor in Nebraska.

Charles Dowd, a retired San Francisco firefighter, was heading to Montreal, Canada to visit his son when he went missing, according to his daughter, Bay Area resident Jennifer Dowd.

Dowd was last heard from via cell phone on Thursday and did not arrive in Chicago that day as scheduled, while his luggage, cell phone and medication did.

A train conductor who spoke with the 69-year-old early Friday morning near Omaha, Nebraska reported that he found Dowd to be disoriented and confused about his whereabouts, Jennifer Dowd said.

An Amtrak spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

The missing man's daughter said she plans to head to Omaha on Sunday to distribute fliers and search for her father on the ground.

Dowd said her father must be found as soon as possible as he is in need of his medication.

He is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 175 pounds with blue eyes and gray hair, she said.

Anyone with any information about Charles Dowd's whereabouts is asked to call Amtrak police at (800) 331-0008 or the Dowd family at (650) 766-6470.

--Bay City News