05/15/2026
‼️Missing Endangered Person‼️
‼️The Calera Police Foundation is offering a 💲1,000 reward for anyone who has credible information that can help find Waithaka.
Thursday May 15, 2026 will mark one year since 72-year-old Reuben Waithaka disappeared in Calera, Alabama. Reuben's disappearance remains a mystery to family and investigators.
‼️Calera Police are holding a news conference on the 1-year disappearance of Reuben Waithaka.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EMdCW1S1D/
📍Reuben Waithaka, 73
🗓Last Seen: May 15, 2025
🌐Location: 100 block of Waterford Cove Trail in Calera, Alabama.
Reuben Waithaka traveled 8,200 miles from Kenya to watch his first grandson graduate from high school in , . They arrived to his son's house in Calera on May 14, 2025.
The morning after he and his wife landed in the US, Reuben walked out of his son’s house in Calera, Alabama. He told her he was going to look for his car,” Reubem's son said. “My dad just got here, and he’s got no car here. Mentally, he was still back in Kenya,” he said. Reuben on May 15, 2025.
The home’s doorbell camera captured Reuben stepping out onto the driveway at 11:08 a.m. His wife followed him outside. She realized that she had left the door unlocked, and that is not how it is done in , so she rushed to close it. She then turned back to Reuben and he was nowhere to be seen.
📍Description of Reuben📍
Age: 73, Height: 5'0", Weight: 165 lbs, Hair: Black, Eye's: Brown.
• He was dressed neatly in khakis, a checkered blue and white shirt and black shoes. Same clothing as shown in the photo of him.
• Reuben speaks some English, but with a heavy accent.📍
A neighbor gave Reuben a ride from the neighborhood, and then a second vehicle reportedly picked him up and dropped him off at the Speed Trac Service Station on hwy 25 at 11:36 a.m in Calera. Surveillance footage recorded him walking into the gas station almost two miles away. He waved at the store attendant, headed into a rest room and left through the back door. The last known sighting was of Reuben Waithaka crawling under a fence and walking into a hunting property, Calera Sports Hunting Club. An eyewitness told police of that sighting.
They’ve considered the possibility that Reuben had undiagnosed or another condition that was triggered by the stress of being away from home. It’s not uncommon for people with dementia to wander away from home, especially when they’re in unfamiliar surroundings.
📍Details of Reuben's Trip To The US.📍
He wasn’t himself on the flight to the US looking back, Reuben seemed restless on his trip to the United States. At the time, his family figured it was just exhaustion from the 18-hour journey, his son says. His parent's flight took off from the Kenyan capital of on May 13, 2025. Reuben drove his small sedan to the airport, where they boarded a Lufthansa flight through Frankfurt, , to . The flight to went fine, but things went downhill on the journey’s second leg to Atlanta. Reuben became incoherent and agitated, and a flight attendant had to step in to help his wife keep him seated.
Reuben’s unease didn’t end after landing in Atlanta. He appeared confused, and fell and hurt his knee when he tried to go the wrong way on an airport escalator. His limp from that fall is visible on the gas station security footage. Barua took his father to the ER once they arrived in Calera. He was discharged in the early morning after a CT scan of his head and some bloodwork came back normal, Barua says.
Jetlagged and exhausted Reuben showered, took a nap and ate a breakfast of fried eggs and tea. Then he stepped outside. His wife followed initially, but when she
rushed back to close the garage door, he was gone, his son says.
📌We are asking the public, especially truckers and people traveling through rest stops, to please keep an eye out. If you see him, please don’t give him another ride,” Barua said. “Call the nearest police station. We just want to bring him home.📌
📞If you have any information no matter how small, how insignificant you may think it is, please contact the Calera Police Department at (205) 668-3505.
You may call Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama at (205) 254-7777 or submit an anonymous tip below
https://www.p3tips.com/TipForm.aspx?ID=646
📍Link's To More Information Regarding Details To This Case.
‼️Calera Police Department
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15LbZUvCHx/
‼️ALEA REPORT
https://app.alea.gov/Community/wfAlertFlyer.aspx?ID=c90bd0bc-0d12-43ac-af25-570d67ffeae1
