Search continues for man visiting from the Philippines, last seen at Lowe’s in Bellingham
The search for a Filipino man who was last seen outside the Lowe’s in Bellingham on July 4 continues.
Edgar B. Aberilla, 72, traveled from the Philippines with his wife to visit their daughter, Abby Tullius, who lives in Burlington. Aberilla has dementia and often is disoriented.
Aberilla left Tullius’ home at about 4 p.m. July 4 without telling anyone. He reportedly got a ride from a neighbor who took him to Bellingham and dropped him off outside the Lowe’s on the 1000 block of E. Sunset Drive.
Burlington Detective Sgt. Jeremy Kramer said they have video footage of Aberilla being dropped off and are tracking his movements from there through surveillance cameras. There is no indication that foul play is involved.
Kramer said there are no updates on Aberilla’s whereabouts and detectives continue to visit Bellingham to hand out flyers, check for video and speak to people in the area. Bellingham Police Department are also following up with possible sightings of Aberilla and assisting Burlington PD when they need help.
The neighbor who dropped off Aberilla said in an email to the Bellingham Herald that on July 4, he was heading out to go to a local church and saw Aberilla waving him down across the street from his home. Aberilla told him he wanted to go to the bus terminal because his brother lives near there.
Tullius said that before he went missing, Aberilla would try to go to the bus station because he thought the Philippines was just a drive away.
The neighbor did not know that Aberilla had dementia and had trouble communicating due to the language barrier. Aberilla’s native language is Tagalog and he speaks little English.
The neighbor said when they got to the bus station, Aberilla kept saying “the Bow” and it was assumed that he meant the Bow Hill Gas Station and Food Mart north of Burlington.
Kramer said they have a photo of Aberilla outside the gas station.
Aberilla got out of the car at the gas station and tried to speak to a few customers who had trouble understanding him. The neighbor told customers that Aberilla was trying to go to the bus station and said it was the next exit.
The neighbor said that in the car, Aberilla wanted to go further north to get to the bus terminal and when they reached the Lowe’s, he got out of the car.
“He was very appreciative of the ride and he got out to walk. I gave him $19 and he started to cry. I gave him a hug and wished him well. I then went back to Burlington. It was 6:20 p.m. when a “Silver Alert’‘ came over my phone. I read it and I knew right away this was the person I drove to Bellingham. I called right away to let them [police] know what had happened,” the neighbor said in an email.
A public Facebook group called “Help us find Edgar B. Aberilla” was created by Tullius. A search party has not been organized since Aberilla went missing but Tullius and her mother have been going to Bellingham to search for him.
“On Saturday, I went to the spot where my dad was possibly seen that was in Maritime Heritage Park. I went there with my mom and we walked the trails, surrounding areas and kept posting more fliers. Unfortunately that search was in vain,” she said.
Tullius said she has not been updated by the police recently about her father’s case and feels that the search for him has slowed down.
Aberilla is 5-foot-1, 140 pounds with short black hair. He wears glasses and was last seen with a blue T-shirt, khaki shorts, brown shoes and was carrying a brown bag.
If anyone sees Aberilla, they are asked to stay with him and call 911 immediately.
