Family searching for 64-year-old missing for days

John Wilson’s family is running out of ideas and quickly running out of time.

Wilson has been missing since Dec. 16, when he was last seen walking away from a south Wichita gas station.

His family and friends have canvassed much of south Wichita, searching for him daily. He is 64 and has dementia.

Six people taped fliers to telephone poles around the Planeview area on Christmas, stopping people to ask if they’d seen Wilson.

Nine days later, they knew time was running out.

His brother, James Wilson, said he got on a bus near where they live around Grove and Mount Vernon, and was dropped off around 9 p.m. at Oliver and Mount Vernon.

He then walked to the Kwik Shop at 2750 S. Oliver, where he tried to buy gas for a car, though he did not have one.

Confused, he wandered around the pumps for a while before going inside and leaving his wallet and phone there.

He left the gas station and walked out into the “bitter cold,” and has not been seen again, James Wilson said.

There has been no activity on his credit card accounts.

And his cat and four dogs wait anxiously at home.

“He’s vanished into thin air,” said another brother, 69-year-old William Wilson.

He was last seen wearing dark sweat pants, a brown coat and blue shoes.

He had not been feeling well for the few days before he went missing, James Wilson said.

The Wichita Police Department issued a Silver Alert for John Wilson last week.

“We’re hoping that somebody provides something new,” James Wilson said. “If we keep it out there, somebody probably will recognize him.”

John Wilson is an Army veteran who graduated from Wichita State University and worked in its registrar’s office for 25 years before retiring about two years ago, according to family.

“John was a guy who was liked by everyone who knew him,” James Wilson said.

James Wilson said he sleeps at night, if only because he is so tired from searching all day.

“It’s hard to think about anything else,” he said. “Just where can he be?”

There have been a handful of alleged sightings, but none have panned out.

That doesn’t stop Kimberly Sims from checking every time regardless.

She is not related to the Wilsons but has known the family for years, she said. She coordinates the daily search parties and reaches out to people via Facebook and Twitter.

Sims has searched on Oliver as far south as Derby. The search has also taken her to 21st and Broadway, Towne West Square and the College Hill area, among others.

She has John Wilson’s picture taped to the rear window of her blue Ford hatchback.

She has been the eternal optimist in the search for John Wilson, “pounding the streets” because she would rather do that than sit at home.

But after the sun had set on Christmas, as she was driving through downtown Wichita, her confidence broke if but for a minute.

“I see everybody in the neighborhood celebrating – the families are coming over, and that’s just not happening for us,” she said. “They’re coming over for a different reason.

“It’s been a little bit different Christmas this year for sure.”

Her voice falters.

“We were praying for a miracle today.”

She quickly recovers.

“And it may happen; the day’s not over.”

The family wants to encourage people to keep looking for John Wilson, but Sims said it’s “time to get real here.”

“We want to hang on to hope that he’s still alive, but we need to come back and draw (the search) back in,” she said. “We need to … deal with the reality, the unfortunate, disgusting reality that we may end up having to deal with, which would be looking for him as deceased.

“It’s ugly, but it is so.”

This story was originally published December 25, 2015 at 7:58 PM with the headline "Family searching for 64-year-old missing for days."