CA CA - Rodney Texera, 41, Berkeley, 1 Dec 2005

BERKELEY -- When Rodney Texera didn't show up for Christmas in 2005, his mother really started worrying.

The 41-year-old Berkeley resident, who is deaf, disappeared a couple of weeks before the holidays after going to Oroville.

He is just one of 50,930 missing adults on file with the FBI, but to his mom, he's the one and only.

"We thought he would show up at Christmas Eve, and then on Christmas Day; he didn't show up and that's when I knew something was wrong," his mother, Pamela Creech, said Friday.

The last communication she had from him was an e-mail.

On Friday, Creech choked back tears at a news conference in Berkeley and pleaded for anyone with information on Texera to call police. During the news conference, a $5,000 reward was announced by the Carole Sund/Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation for information that leads to finding him.

The case, investigated by Berkeley police in Oroville, is now cold, said Berkeley police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss.

Kusmiss said Texera, who lived in a one-bedroom public housing unit on University Avenue, had gone to Oroville with another deaf friend to help with a move. The two got into an argument, she said, and Texera picked up his backpack and walked toward a grove of trees. No one has seen or heard from him since.

Police to this day have not conducted a search of the area for his body because they don't suspect foul play, Kusmiss said.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_6779861?source=rss

Missing in California

http://missingincalifornia.com/rodneytexera2005.html

Berkeley Police Department

http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/police/newsandpress/2007files/Texera fact sheet.pdf

North American Missing Persons Network

http://www.nampn.org/cases/texera_rodney.html

Still missing, added to NAMUS: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)



Circumstances of Disappearance
Rodney last had contact with family on 12/01/2005. He was living in Berkeley, CA but may have been helping a friend move to Oroville, CA.

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Texera, circa 2005

• Missing Since 12/01/2005
• Missing From Berkeley, California
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Date of Birth 08/21/1965 (58)
• Age 40 years old
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• Height and Weight 5'3, 150 pounds
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• Medical Conditions Texera is developmentally disabled and has been deaf since birth. His speech is limited and he relies on sign language to communicate. He also has an untreated heart condition. Texera is classified as a dependent adult.
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• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Hazel eyes. Texera is bald. He has a reddish-brown mustache. His nickname is Rod.

Details of Disappearance​

Texera last had contact with his family members via email on December 1, 2005. He was living in UA Homes, a public housing unit for disabled adults, in the 1000 block of University Avenue in Berkeley, California.

He went to Oroville, California to help a deaf friend move on the day of his disappearance. They got into an argument and Texera walked away. He was last seen walking into a grove of trees, carrying his backpack. He has never been heard from again.

He was reported missing by his mother on December 21, three weeks after his disappearance, after his caseworker notified her that Texera had not started his new janitorial job.

Texera's family believes he was harmed, as they do not believe he would have abandoned his girlfriend or his young daughter. Authorities do not believe foul play was involved in his disappearance, however. The friend he was last seen with is not considered a suspect in his case. Texera's case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency​

• Berkeley Police Department 510-981-5938

Source Information​

• California Attorney General's Office
• Berkeley Police Department
• CBS 5
• Bay Area News
• The San Jose Mercury News

Updated 2 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated September 12, 2007; details of disappearance updated.

Sept 3, 2007


<<While Creech begged for information to “get him home,” Texera’s stepfather who raised him since he was 7, is less optimistic.

“I don’t think he’s out there,” said Willis Creech, adding that he even hired a couple of private detectives to help find Texera. “He hasn’t taken any money out of his bank account, and it’s loaded. The Social Security checks just keep getting deposited. People need money to live. It just keeps piling up and not being touched.”

The ordeal is taking its toll on the family, who at this point simply want information. Texera has a 13-year-old daughter who is suffering. His half-brother, Jason Creech of Tracy, said he often sees people walking down the street whom he mistakes for Texera.>>