After 11 days with no sign, his family delivered an emotional plea to the media last week for any information about his disappearance.
Jafar Imanpour, 74, traveled from Iran to visit his family near Vancouver in early September. On September 25 at about 5:15 p.m., he told his family he was going for a 15-minute walk. When he still hadn’t returned by 8 p.m., his family contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
The RCMP has been searching for the man ever since. At an October 6 press conference, Cpl. Jamie Chung described the case as unusual because no one has provided any information about Imanpour’s whereabouts.
“Somebody somewhere must have seen him,” Chung told the newspaper Coquitlam Now. “So we are pleading with anyone who has seen him or who may have seen him to please call us.”
Imanpour’s son, Mehrdad, said, “My father came about one month ago to visit us. After two weeks, he has gone missing. I just want to ask for help.”
The family lives in Coquitlam, a community of 125,000 directly east of downtown Vancouver that is one of 21 municipalities that make up Metro Vancouver.
The family has offered a $5,000 reward for information that leads to Imanpour, who has visited his family before and is familiar with the area.
Coquitlam RCMP officers and police dogs have searched on foot and also by helicopter. In addition, some 36 volunteers from the Coquitlam Search and Rescue service have looked for the missing man.
Chung said Imanpour speaks very limited English and may be forgetful sometimes. He takes medication for high blood pressure, but didn’t have the pills with him when he left the house for his evening walk.
Imanpour is described as 180 centimeters tall (5-foot-11), weighing 87 kilograms (192 pounds) with a medium build. He is balding with white hair and has a white moustache.
He was last seen wearing a dark blue baseball cap, black jacket, blue jeans, black runners and glasses.
Anyone with information on Imanpour is asked to call the Coquitlam RCMP at 604-945-1550.
