A Kenyan grandfather, Reuben Waithaka traveled 8,200 miles from Kenya to watch his first grandson graduate from high school in Alabama. He arrived six days early, bearing sentimental gifts: old photos of his son as a boy and matching African print shirts for himself, his son, and his grandson.

But the moment they looked forward to never came. The morning after he and his wife, Elizabeth Barua, landed in the U.S., Waithaka walked out of his son’s home in Calera, Alabama, and disappeared.

CNN US report that the doorbell camera captured the 72-year-old stepping out of the house at exactly 11:08 a.m., dressed neatly in khakis, a checkered blue-and-white shirt, and black shoes.

About 30 minutes later, another surveillance camera recorded him walking into a gas station almost two miles away. He waved at the store attendant, entered the restroom, and exited through the back door, never to be seen again.

“He just got here. And then he was gone,” says his 17-year-old grandson, Byron Barua, who graduated five days later without his grandfather present.

Seven weeks on, there’s been no trace of Waithaka

Authorities have scoured the wooded areas of Calera, a city of about 19,000 people located some 30 miles south of Birmingham, using helicopters, drones, off-road vehicles, tracking dogs, and infrared cameras. Still, nothing.

“Sometimes I regret why I asked my parents to come for my son’s graduation. I find myself wondering, ‘What would I have done differently’?” says his son, Willington Barua. “Maybe if I hadn’t invited them, my dad would still be with us.”

His family has retraced his steps and reviewed the surveillance footage repeatedly, searching for answers. How does a 5-foot-5, 160-pound man simply vanish, in broad daylight, in a foreign country where he knows barely anyone?

They’ve considered whether Waithaka had an undiagnosed condition, perhaps dementia, that may have been triggered by the stress of being away from home. Experts say people with dementia are prone to wandering, especially in unfamiliar surroundings.

“He must be so scared,” says his daughter, Emily Barua, her voice cracking. “I want to be hopeful, I really do. But sometimes I wonder, did he sit somewhere and fall asleep in the heat and never (wake) up?”

Looking back, the family says Waithaka wasn’t himself during the trip

He had seemed restless on the 18-hour journey. At the time, his son thought it was simple fatigue.

He had followed his usual routine before leaving home on May 13, feeding his five German Shepherds, cleaning their space, and picking up yard litter before driving to the airport in Nairobi with his wife. They boarded a Lufthansa flight through Frankfurt to Atlanta.

The flight to Frankfurt was smooth, but the next leg to Atlanta wasn’t. Waithaka became incoherent and agitated. A flight attendant had to help his wife keep him seated.

After landing in Atlanta, his confusion continued. He tried to go the wrong way on an airport escalator and fell, injuring his knee, the limp from that fall is visible in the gas station footage.

His son took him to the ER in Calera. A CT scan and bloodwork came back normal, so he was discharged.

Exhausted, he showered, took a nap, and ate breakfast. Then he stepped outside. His wife followed him, but when she ran back in briefly to close the garage door, he was gone.

What changed everything that morning, his family believes, were two rides he received from strangers.

Calera Police Chief David Hyche says investigators spoke with both motorists. One was a neighbor who dropped Waithaka off eight houses away, he had mistakenly believed it was his son’s home. From there, he flagged down a DoorDash driver and asked for a ride “to town.” The driver dropped him at a gas station, where he said he wanted to stop.

That gas station became his last confirmed location at 11:43 a.m.

Later, a resident reported seeing a man matching Waithaka’s description crawling under a gate into a wooded area near a hunting club behind the station. Police also believe he may have caught another ride from a nearby truck stop.

Shortly after he went missing, his family appeared on local television pleading with the public: “Please stop giving him rides.”

“It is still a possibility that he’s in that wooded area because it is just so large,” Hyche says. “But we were searching with many resources as fast as possible because it’s a very hot and very thick area.

And someone of his age, we needed to find him as fast as possible. So after several days of intensive ground searching, we moved to the hope that someone had given him a ride.”

Hyche says his own father had dementia and he understands the Barua family’s anguish.

“It was urgent to really do all we could to try to find him,” he says. “It’s just such a sad case, but it’s also given us an opportunity. I did not know we had Kenyans living here. Well, maybe because none of them have ever been in any trouble.”

Waithaka’s Kenyan phone was with him when he vanished. Hyche contacted the FBI in Nairobi to help track it through his local Kenyan carrier. The process took several days.

Eventually, it was discovered the phone last pinged in Frankfurt, suggesting it may be on airplane mode, making it untraceable.

He had no passport, which carried his B-2 U.S. visa. His family believes he may have had some Kenyan shillings but no U.S. dollars.

Calera detectives continue to search abandoned buildings, check with shelters, hospitals, and immigration officials, but no sign of Waithaka has surfaced.

The case introduced Hyche to the local Kenyan community, a connection he hopes will endure.

Waithaka’s family is left with haunting questions

Willington Barua suspects his father may have experienced “sundowning”, a late-day symptom of Alzheimer’s or dementia that causes confusion, anxiety, or wandering.

His wife, Elizabeth, returned to Kenya on June 20, too distraught to speak with reporters.

The couple had previously visited the U.S. in June 2017 and May 2019 without incident. They even extended their 2019 stay.

Waithaka turned 73 on June 3. His son had planned a Father’s Day celebration before their scheduled return to Kenya. They were going to roast a goat, a Kenyan delicacy, and gather friends and family from across the U.S. Maybe even wear the matching shirts.

But there was no party

On May 20, five days after he vanished, Byron graduated from Calera High School.

Before the ceremony, the family held a moment of silence. As Byron crossed the stage, they clapped and cheered, determined to stay strong.

“It was tragic, but I tried not to let it get to me or bring me down all the way,” Byron says. “I pray for him to stay safe.”

His father, meanwhile, keeps hoping. Barua, who owns a trucking company, posts flyers at truck stops and rest areas. Every time he sees a wooded area, he slows down and peers in.

And every time his phone rings, his heart skips.

The not knowing, he says, is the hardest part.