UPDATE 10:10pm | A missing Long Beach man who had not been seen since Tuesday evening has been found in San Diego.
Cimone Satele, who identified herself as the granddaughter of 79-year-old Moana Lu’uga, said in a Thursday evening e-mail that the missing man had recently been found safe and sound in the Southern California city roughly 105 miles south of Long Beach.
Lu’uga, who suffers from diabetes and dementia, disappeared Tuesday after leaving his Clark Avenue home in his vehicle.
“He was lost after going to the market and was found in San Diego,” Satele said.
1:45pm | The public is being asked for help in the search for a Long Beach man with diabetes and dementia who has been reported missing.
Moana Lu’uga (pronounced mow-ahh-nah loo-oong-nga), 79, went missing from his Long Beach home on the evening of Tuesday, April 12, said Cimone Satele, founder of Together Samoa, a coalition of Samoan Americans based in Long Beach and Carson.
The elderly Samoan man, who goes by the nickname “Mo,” is diabetic, suffers from dementia and is in need of immediate medical attention, Satele said.
He was last seen at his home in the 3800 block of Clark Avenue around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Satele said. It is believed that he left his home in his vehicle, a 2006 silver Chevrolet Malibu with the license plate number 5THR629.
Lu’uga, who attends United Samoan Church in Carson, is 5’8” tall, weighs about 180 pounds and has white hair, brown eyes and a tattoo of the letter “M” on his left forearm, she said. He was last seen wearing a black T-shirt with white stripes and beige pants.
Satele is asking anyone who has seen Lu’uga or has information regarding his whereabouts to contact the Long Beach Police Department at 562-570-7034.