The remains of a missing 76-year-old man from Oceanside were discovered in a desert near Lake Los Angeles on Saturday, three days after his car was located in the area, police said.
Nikolaos Christidis, whose family says suffers from dementia, was reported to be a critical missing person last seen on July 22 in Oceanside, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Christidis’ Honda Civic was located in the area of 155th Street East in unincorporated Lake Los Angeles on Wednesday – hundreds of miles from Oceanside, a coastal city in San Diego County, the news release stated.
The car was found in soft sand in an area not visible from the road.
On Saturday, a body was discovered around 10:30 a.m. near 140th Street East and East Avenue I, in unincorporated Northeast Antelope Valley, L.A. County Sheriff’s Department stated in a news release.
The person found was Christidis, Lt. Darrah with the Oceanside Police Department later confirmed .
His body was found about mile and a half from his car, Oceanside police said, but Google Maps showed it was closer to 5 miles.
Details about Christidis’ death were not made available.
His body was found during an excessive heat warning issued by the National Weather Service, and temperatures in the Lake Los Angeles area soared past 100 degrees on Saturday.
On July 22, Christidis’ daughter found a note from her father stating he would be home late, Oceanside police said.
The following day, his ex-wife called Christidis, who told her he was in Escondido and planned to be home in 15 minutes.
Several hours later, Christidis’ daughter called him, and he said he was in a desert and would be home in an hour.
Later calls to Christidis’ cellphone went straight to voicemail, police said.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, according to a news release first announcing a body had been found.