A grandfather vanished just a day after undertaking a journey of over 8,000 miles for his grandson’s graduation, prompting a heartfelt appeal from his granddaughter for his safe return.
Elaine Westry, 19, urgently called on anyone with information about her cherished grandfather to guide him to the authorities and “return him” as the search enters its second month.
Efforts to locate Reuben Waithaka, 73, began following his mysterious departure from his son’s residence in Calera, Alabama, on May 15. He went missing while visiting the U.S. with his wife from Kenya.
“It’s like a nightmare,” Westry said in an emotional conversation with The U.S. Sun.
“We don’t have any answers, so it’s hard to move on and go to sleep, wake up, do our thing, our daily routines, not knowing where he is.”
Westry, who lives in Seattle, last saw her grandfather when she visited Kenya in 2022.
She was looking forward to being reunited with him on the family trip, and described their tight-knit relationship as one full of jokes and phone calls to catch up about school and life.
“Every time I hang up the phone, he’s telling me to remember that my life is important and not to take my life for granted,” Westry said.
“He gives tough love. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Waithaka and his wife, Elizabeth Barua, flew over 18 hours for the graduation, traveling from Nairobi to Frankfurt before flying to Atlanta, where they had a nearly three-hour drive to Calera.
“The flight was a lot for him,” Westry said.
“The drive from Atlanta to Alabama was probably even more.”
Despite the difficult journey, Waithaka was determined to be in attendance when his eldest grandson, Byron, graduated from high school.
“This time he was like, ‘I have to go, it’s my first grandson’s graduation,'” Westry said.
But by the time Byron walked across the graduation stage six days later, Waithaka had disappeared.
“He just got here. And then he was gone,” Byron told CNN earlier this week.
Timeline of disappearance
The search for Reuben Waithaka has lasted seven weeks as his family is desperate for answers. Below is a timeline of his disappearance:
May 13 – Reuben Waithka and his wife, Elizabeth, board a flight from Nairobi, Kenya. They then went through Frankfurt, Germany, to get to Atlanta.
May 14 – Reuben and Elizabeth arrive in Calera, Alabama, after 18 hours of flying from Kenya.
May 15 at 11:08 am – Reuben leaves his son’s home wearing khaki pants and a plaid shirt.
May 15 at 11:43 am – Reuben’s last confirmed sighting on CCTV footage at a gas station two miles away from his son’s home. Police later said he was given a ride to the gas station.
May 21 – Reuben’s grandson graduates from high school without Reuben in attendance.
June 3 – Reuben’s family celebrates his 73rd birthday without him.
June 20 – Elizabeth returns to Kenya.
Source: CNN
On the morning of May 15, the day after Waithaka and Elizabeth arrived in Calera, the grandfather walked out of his son’s home with the family dog.
Then the dog returned to the home without Waithaka, raising alarm bells for the family — but he was already on the move.
GAS STATION FOOTAGE
After leaving the home, Waithaka hitchhiked twice before arriving at a Chevron gas station two miles away, Calera police said.
CCTV footage showed Waithaka walking across the gas station’s parking lot with a slight limp and with his hands behind his back.
The video marks the last time Waithaka was seen before he disappeared out the back door of the gas station.
Westry said she couldn’t watch the video without becoming upset about the two people who gave him rides.
“My reaction to it was, why would someone pick up an old man?” she said.
“It just makes me mad because why would someone pick him up and not take him to the police? When I see that video, you see him standing there. Take him to the police.”
Westry said she could tell by his face in the footage that her grandfather was confused.
She continued, “I was just very angry because people are supposed to help people. If you see an old man being confused, take him to the hospital. Take him to the police.”
“I don’t understand why my grandpa isn’t found yet.”
She urged, “Whoever has my grandfather, give him back. Don’t take advantage of him.”
‘CONFUSED’ STATE
Waithaka’s family believes he is disoriented and trying to get back to Kiambu, the town in Kenya where he lives.
His son, Willington Barua, told CNN that Waithaka seemed confused and was behaving unusually agitated during the flight to Atlanta.
He then fell on an escalator in the Atlanta airport and hurt his knee, explaining his limp in the surveillance video.
Once the travelers arrived in Calera on May 14, Westry said he refused to go into his son’s house at first.
The family then took Waithaka to the hospital to make sure everything was alright.
A CT scan of his head came back normal, as well as some of his bloodwork, and he was discharged, Willington said.
I hope he’s eating because everytime I eat, everytime I sleep, I’m just like is he sleeping? Is he eating? Is he okay? Is someone taking care of him?There’s so many questions that nobody can really give me the answers to.
Elaine Westry
The next morning, despite his state of confusion, it wasn’t unusual when Waithaka stepped outside for a stroll because his family was used to him walking everywhere in Kenya, Westry said.
Elizabeth tried to walk behind him but turned around to lock the doors. When she turned around, he was gone, she told CBS affiliate WIAT.
Westry said she thought her family was joking when they told her Waithaka was missing.
She arrived in town the next day and immediately helped to join the search, but she can’t help but feel like she should have arrived earlier.
“I just know if I was there, if I came the same time as them, this wouldn’t have happened,” Westry said.
“But you never know. So I do blame myself for a lot of things. But he really wanted to come, he really did.”
Waithaka doesn’t have his passport with him or any US dollars.
When police tracked his Kenyan phone, his last location showed he was in Frankfurt, likely meaning his phone was dead or on airplane mode.
The family has worked with the Calera Police Department to put up posters across Alabama asking for the public to keep an eye out for Waithaka.
“The search is still active. We are following up on leads but as we approach the two month mark the leads have slowed down considerably,” Calera Police Chief David Hyche told The U.S. Sun earlier this week.
Westry also made a TikTok post begging for help from anyone who might have seen her grandfather, which has now garnered almost 98,000 views.
She says the community’s support has been vital to the search — but nothing has stopped her from worrying about her grandfather for the past seven weeks.
“I hope he’s eating because everytime I eat, everytime I sleep, I’m just like is he sleeping? Is he eating? Is he okay? Is someone taking care of him?” Westry said.
“There’s so many questions that nobody can really give me the answers to.”
